When this came up and they first took him away with a seizure I was reminded of some dozen "events" that suggested this wasn't just a recent thing.
His oldest sister Mary (I believe was her name) was in her early twenties and did some things best described as "acting out". Old Joe Kennedy and his wife Rose had the girl lobotomized. She lived on many decades as an invalid in an institution.
Teddy "acted out" exactly once, in college, and his brothers hustled him off to the Army ~ most likely to save him from Old Joe's doctors.
There were other, later events, but enough to show a pattern.
Most likely he shouldn't have been given a driver's license, but he was, and that had its own problems.
Even his supposed drinking and drunken behavior in public looked more like what so many folks with brain tumors encounter ~ .
No, wouldn't want that ~ no brain tumors ~ no sceleric inflamation ~ no epilepsy ~ no shunts ~ no....... and yet so many of the folks I've known who went through dealing with this same situation faced up to it bravely and trundled on, and so it is with Ted Kennedy. Can't fault him at all. His nieces and nephews should be proud of him, and to the degree this is hereditary, they should prepare their lives to carry on to the end as well as he did.
for all the things I think I know as fact of the kennedys, and ole ted in particular, I couldnt condemn him any sooner than I could condemn myself...just that simple, I have NOT the power to save or damn anyone, myself included...
even if I could level the playing field down to just the self imposed alcohol crisis, that still wouldnt give that power to me to cheerlead someone to hell...
somewhere in between unbridled tyranny and simple home invasion, there is a line where God gives me the Right to send a soul to Him for Judgement...I believe up to the moment that I decide to drop the hammer, God [for that matter He could return the bullet] could stay my hand and use that moment for Salvation of the tyrant or simple robber...
bottom line is that the value of the heart is NOT my judgement to make...and anyone here who would cheerlead damnation of anothers soul has a whole lotta 'splainin' to do...