[TheMercenary]

This says it all.

Robinson: Senator by any other name

GEVERYL ROBINSON
Sunday, January 4, 2009

Have you ever researched the meaning of your name?

Because my parents - correction, my maternal grandmother - named me Geveryl, I have always been fascinated by names and their meanings.

I am a firm believer that names dictate personality. There's no scientific proof, but I know during Biblical times, a child's name dictated his or her destiny. Jacob means "supplanter," and true to his name, Jacob tricked his brother out of his rights as the firstborn, then later out of his blessings from his dying father, Isaac.

The Prayer of Jabez (one of my favorite books) deciphers the prayer of a man named Jabez whose name means "born in pain." However, Jabez requested that God basically deliver him from his name so that he might live a life that was free of the pain and grief his name foreshadowed.

The point is that names can be a determining factor in how one's life is lived.

Just ask Caroline Kennedy.

It seems that being born a descendent of Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald comes with undeniable privileges. True, the Kennedy family has seen its share of tragedies, but when it relates to politics, the Kennedys have a political dynasty. Now Caroline Kennedy would like to continue that dynasty by being appointed to Hillary Rodham Clinton's seat in the Senate. Let's ponder this, shall we?

Her father, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was a U.S. president. Her uncle, Bobby, was a U.S. senator and a presidential candidate in 1968. Her uncle, Ted, is currently the U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Yet Caroline has never held even the lowliest of political offices and hasn't held a full-time job in years, if ever. If I'm not mistaken, the most controversial issues she's ever tackled head-on are poetry and public service.

But she has the Kennedy name, so the fact that her resume is basically non-existent is irrelevant. According to the Kennedy logic, and apparently the logic of New York Gov. David Paterson, if you have the right name, credentials don't matter.

Unfortunately, that logic is terribly flawed.

Think about it. Would you love to read a book of poetry by Gilbert Shakespeare (William's younger brother), or watch Mamie Ruth play baseball (although, I'm sure Babe would have been proud)?

And how many paintings by Francesco da Vinci (Leonardo's uncle) or Lola Picasso (Pablo's sister) are hanging in galleries across the United States and abroad? How many people wear Marci Klein jeans or would have attended the inauguration of Roger Clinton?

The sad thing is that Caroline Kennedy will probably be given the vacant Senate seat. Then we will continue the disturbing pattern of placing incompetent people in offices they should never hold because of who they are instead of what they can do for our country.

In Romeo and Juliet, (II, ii, 1-2) Juliet utters the unforgettable lines, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet."

The Kennedy's have proven that there is a lot in a name. However, giving Caroline Kennedy Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat doesn't smell just as sweet; it just smells.


Geveryl Robinson, formerly of Savannah, lives in Knoxville. Her e-mail address is geveryl@gmail.com.