Opinion: The Right To Be Heard – Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be silenced

RFK Jr. Speaking From The Steps Of The Lincoln Memorial. Photo courtesy Report From Planet Earth

David Marks states that for the last few years, condescending media coverage of RFK Jr. has ignored his perspective and solutions for the problems of our era

David Marks
Report From Planet Earth

This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. follows in the footsteps of two of his uncles and his father — in becoming a candidate for President of the United States. His formal announcement has been prefaced by news stories describing Mr. Kennedy as a vaccine skeptic and a lost soul, steeped in his doomed vanity.

For the last few years, condescending media coverage of RFK Jr. has ignored his perspective and solutions for the problems of our era. The reports are filled with personal attacks, out-of-context quotes, and the insinuation that he intentionally distorts and manipulates information. Meanwhile, the details that Mr. Kennedy deems important are obscured, even from those willing to search for them. His unchallenged detractors demean him in bold attempts to misinform the public.

The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie; deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth; persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

President John F. Kennedy, 1962

There are no verifiable facts cited in the assaults and dismissals of RFK Jr. Studies are referenced with vague assertions that he has been proven wrong. These scientific reports are flawed and questionable, yet presented by detractors as absolute, and evidence that he is misguided and adrift.

Claims that his ideas are harmful in any way are unsubstantiated. He has been disgraced without cause and has not had the opportunity to present any defense in mainstream media.

With Mr. Kennedy’s announcement of his campaign for the presidency, the accusatory chorus gets louder and more belligerent, revealing an ulterior agenda behind the need to drown out what he has to say. The rhetoric denouncing him is filled with vitriol rather than substance. If his views have no merit, why are they squelched with such vehemence?

The hostility is pronounced because Mr. Kennedy is an iconic and noble figure unwilling to conform. His banishment fits with a trend emanating from many conservatives, liberals, Republicans, and Democrats — echoed by news media. It has become acceptable to dogmatically insist on a point of view, belittling and excluding those who don’t comply with scripted policies, using insults rather than ideas.

Instead of allowing issues to be discussed openly and evaluated reasonably, positions are inflexible. Those who contradict or deviate from a prescribed narrative are deemed blasphemous and unworthy of consideration. Opponents remain locked in their positions with blinders on, each with intractable confidence that they hold some sacrosanct truth.

With a presidential election on the horizon, this is the climate that is shaping America today. As angry rhetoric divides communities, legislators, and candidates, grievous actions driven by fear are induced. Writers are blacklisted, minority rights are challenged, and personal autonomy is devalued; all with an increasing loss of freedom of speech.

The repression of Mr. Kennedy’s views is a penultimate example of this degrading climate. The desperate attempt to subjugate him is revelatory, exposing the degree of his threat.

The strategy has succeeded so far because people who consider themselves educated, informed, and supportive of the Constitution, have accepted the relentless empty tirades against RFK Jr. as gospel, failing to see the danger of silencing him. Few have recognized that stifling justifiable dissent has no place in a country founded on basic human rights.

Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard – to share in the decisions of government which shape men’s lives. Everything that makes man’s lives worthwhile – family, work, education, a place to rear one’s children and a place to rest one’s head – all this depends on the decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people, and I mean all of its people. Therefore, the essential humanity of man can be protected and preserved only where the government must answer – not just to the wealthy; not just to those of a particular religion, not just to those of a particular race; but to all of the people.

Robert Francis Kennedy, 1966

RFK Jr. has been depicted as a narrow-minded zealot when in reality he is not beholden to any economic, political, or scientific dogma. He speaks the truth as he sees it, with more consideration than most. His detractors are not only angered because of his openness to ideas that could change our future — but his enthusiasm for honest debate.

The recent vicious attacks on him are not about any of his individual positions. They are provoked by his willingness to openly discuss facts and engage in reasonable deliberation about the most challenging issues of our times.

The exacerbating problems we face today were engendered decades ago. The subversive forces Mr. Kennedy’s elders confronted in the past have become entrenched, with extensive influence on policies, economics, media, and the people. The powerful institutions and individuals who spurn a fearless presidential candidate are deeply threatened by the possibility of a nationally respected figure questioning their authority and influence.

There is no mystery in understanding why. For decades, Mr. Kennedy has made the core of his legal and political agenda quite clear — and he has only become more adamant.

My top priority is to end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power that has ruined our economy, shattered the middle class, polluted our landscapes and waters, poisoned our children and robbed us of our values and freedom.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2023

Mr. Kennedy has already had great success in his quest. His legal efforts have forced companies to stop polluting rivers and the air. He continues to question data and oppose directives from industries and corporations, particularly those with excessive influence on the government.

As his popularity grows, the aggression towards him will increase, because he represents an existential threat to those benefiting from the status quo.

We need not agree with Mr. Kennedy’s analysis of the causes of today’s problems, nor expect that he mirrors every detail of our perspectives. However, the obfuscation of what he stands for, and the attempts to ridicule and censor him are affronts to democracy that concern us all.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has important things to say — it is time to listen very carefully. He has the right to be heard.

David Marks is a veteran investigative reporter, writer and documentary producer. His most recent work can be found at: https://reportfromplanetearth.substack.com/

David Marks states that for the last few years, condescending media coverage of RFK Jr. has ignored his perspective and solutions for the problems of our era

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