I can think of several things that being an octogenarian provides for me; I’m eighty-one. The first is that, as Willie Nelson sang, “...days dwindle down to a precious few.” Since very few will read this article who are octogenarians, allow me to sensitize you to the reality of getting old.

Also, my journey down my yellow brick road of life allows me to absorb my journey and reflect upon it. I have an advantage that the younger generations lack. I spent most of the 60s in college and grad school. That was transformative for me and that generation. Issues related to civil rights and the antiwar movements woke up some Americans, mostly young Americans. Bobby Kennedy was the most important person to me and millions of others. I have dozens of mentors to whom I look for direction. However, at the very top of my mentors’ list is Bobby.

You are wondering to yourself, so what? Let me explain why Bobby is such a guiding light to me and millions of others worldwide. Bobby was white and rich but could cross lines of race and income both here and overseas. He died tragically in 1968, but he still lives in the minds and hearts of millions.

Today, six generations after his death, America’s democracy faces its own death due to Trump, who is both facing a handful of state and federal criminal cases and has been found guilty in his lifetime of many others. Donald the Dumb wants to overcome his feeling of inferiority by getting elected again as president.

Joe Biden beat him four years ago, but America faces another election in less than six months. The American electorate's decision will be based on America's choice between Biden and Trump.

However, there is an outlier in this election. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a third-party candidate. He is Bobby’s son. Being born into the Kennedy clan doesn’t mean that Bobby’s mindset is being carried by his son. Listening to RFK, Jr. stating his position on political issues is as incoherent as Trump’s mindset.

RFK, Jr. has brought up his various medical conditions. For example, he has or had a worm in his brain. It was thought that it was a brain tumor. However, a doctor at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital said it might have been a parasite. Kennedy agreed that the abnormality seen on his scans “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.”

This is from The New York Times story.

Additionally, JFK, Jr. has had a problem with atrial fibrillation for years, resulting in at least four hospitalizations starting while in college. Also, he had been diagnosed with mercury poisoning. Mercury poisoning can cause neurological problems.

In The New York Times interview, he said, “I have cognitive problems, clearly...I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.” That was a deposition during his divorce from his second wife in 2012. His cognitive problems meant that his earning power had suffered, and he needed money in the divorce settlement.

RFK, Jr. has described his condition as “severe brain fog.” His medical issues might have caused him to toy with the issue of pardoning Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. He also said he would “look at individual cases” related to the January 6 insurrection and pardoning some. He views Biden as “a much worse threat to democracy” than Trump.

He also contends that we should have supported Israel more than we have, but we are wasting our money supporting Ukraine. Additionally, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia could have been resolved “through negotiations, through diplomacy, through statecraft, and not through weapons.”

Kennedy views COVID vaccines as one of the causes of autism. In addition, he is the chairperson of the Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit group with an anti-vaccine agenda.

It mystifies me that he is the polar opposite of Bobby. It is beyond the pale to me that Bobby, one of the world's greatest leaders back in the 60s, became a person lacking most of what Bobby possessed except for the same name.

This is part of an interview of RFK, Jr. by Ari Melber. Kennedy can’t address a question that Melber asked. He changes the subject. Here is an example.

This video contains Dr. Stephen Colbert’s medical diagnosis.

This is Ari Melber's interview with RFK, Jr.