-
Feb 28, 2007 3:45 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Fmr. Lt. Governor Writes About Religion & Politics
by Sally Thorner
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
It's probably been awhile since you've heard the name Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. But that's about to change.
Maryland's former lieutenant governor has been busy since losing her gubernatorial bid back in 2002.
Sally Thorner has an exclusive first look at her labor of love.
The book "Failing America's Faithful" has been inside Kathleen Kennedy Townsend for 25 years. Her self-described mission to redefine religion's role in politics is true to her roots.
"I had the example of my own father who, after his brother died wrote me a letter." As the oldest of her cousins, Townsend said the letter acknowledged the loss of their uncle but it also urged her to "be kind to others,and love your country."
Even after losing her own father five years later, Townsend would choose a life of public service.
The fiercely private wife and mother of four girls reveals very personal stories in this book.
"I never talked in much detail about what happened when my uncle John Kennedy was killed or what I did when my own father died," said Townsend. "And I wanted to share that because it is part of the consciousness of this country and I wanted people to understand what I learned from death."
In her book, Townsend says she learned not be bitter or vengeful. It's a lesson her father taught her.
"What we need in the United States is not division but is love and wisdom and compassion towards one another," Townsend reads from a speech her father, Robert F. Kennedy, gave in Indianapolis.
Indianapolis, the site of that impromptu speech, was the only major city in America that didn't burn after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. triggered race riots across the country.
RFK's ability to heal is the focus of the recent film, "Bobby."
Townsend didn't see the film, but she's grateful a whole new generation is now aware of her dad and what he stood for.
Townsend says look for religion to play a new role in the upcoming presidential election.
"Hillary Clinton, you know she was Methodist and whether that has taught her, [Barack] Obama speaks in his own book about his faith and I think that will be helpful for all of us so that we are not divided between believers and non-believers."
"Failing America's Faithful" hits bookstore shelves Thursday.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)