Interview: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - We delve into the most important lessons he's learned from his famous family.
30:57
We are talking with Robert Kennedy Jr. I must ask questions about your family and what you've learned from them. I know you've studied all of them very intensely. We play the name game, where we usually just come up with one word when we think of something.
31:23
If you can think of one or two sentences regarding the most critical leadership lesson from some of your family members, let's try that. Suppose we could start with your dad, the most important leadership lesson you learned from him. In that case, I mean, I think you know my dad, I wanted us to understand that the way to happiness, the way to self-esteem is through service to others, that life is not just about making a big pile for yourself and whoever dies with the most stuff wins.
32:02
We're here to build something; character is the most important thing we can make. And my dad gave me a book right before he died. He gave me a book by Camus called "The Plague" and told me with a particular intensity that I want you to read this. The Plague was about a doctor in North Africa who was in a quarantined city during a plague that destroyed the town. He had to make a moral choice because he didn't know how to treat it. Nobody did about whether he was going to go out and help it.
32:40
Minister to the sick even though he couldn't help them, and he does that. They, you know, Camus was an existentialist who was the heir to the um to the Stoics and Camus who wrote another book about Sisyphus who is sort of the hero, the iconic hero of this. Sisyphus was doomed because of something he did well for humanity to push older up the hill for the rest of his life and never get to the top. It would roll down every night, and he'd have to roll it back, and it reminded the Stoic.
33:17
The stoic was a happy man because even though he was engaged in a hopeless task with an absurd universe, he had put his shoulder to the stone and was doing his duty. He was doing what he was supposed to do, and he was building character; I think my father taught me that the only thing that we make that is permanent, meaningful, and lasting is character and that if we make that, you know we money can always be taken away from you, your fame can always be you know all those things are wormwood and bile.
33:54
The only thing that lasts forever, even probably after we'd I, is the character that we build when we're here with a couple of others; I'll try to do this rapid fire uh most important lesson from President John F Kennedy the most critical task is what he wanted as his epithet he kept the peace he said the primary job of a president of the United States is to keep our country out of war most crucial lesson from Senator Edward Kennedy I you know from Teddy it was perseverance and compassion. He spent a lifetime.
34:35
Let me put it this way: let me say something about Daddy Teddy Kennedy. He was the most controversial of my relatives, but he was in the centre for 50 years. Maybe, but he has more bills named after him and more pieces of legislation than any senator in the history of the United States. The way he did that is because he was able to reach across the aisle. He would bring people home. I was an environmental advocate, and people like Warren Hatch and John Kasich and maybe those guys were like Darth Vader.
35:17
Vader and I were like, Teddy, how can you? I've been with these people who are destroying the planet and engaged in all these cruelties towards humanity. Still, he just liked them, saw other parts of them besides their political ideology, and formed incredible friendships with them. He was able to see the things they had in common, the values they had in common, rather than focusing on the little issues that kept them apart, and I would say add to me that's the most important thing.
35:47
The lesson, and it's something that I've tried to do all my life, is to talk to people I disagree with, to go on Fox News right and talk to people I have differences with and speak to those audiences. You know, to do it in a friendly, respectful way and look for common ground.
One family member who has said many positive things about you or used to be a family member, I guess, is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. What does he think is the most important lesson from this?
36:14
The most important lesson from a family that I think anybody would learn is discipline or self-discipline. Suppose you look at the documentary about him on Netflix that I watched with Cheryl. We both agreed and watched many documentaries; we decided it was one of the best we'd ever seen. It's a very, very moving portrait of him, and he credits you as one of the leaders; he gives me too much credit for that, but it's a very, very moving portrait of him.
36:57
Arnold is a fantastic father to his children, and his children love him, and you know he's in so many ways. You know he's like all of us. He's got his flaws, and because of who he is, those flaws are known to everybody; yet, he's continued to live his life joyfully, embraces new experiences, and leads with kindness and gentleness towards other people and compassion last family member, your wife Cheryl Hines, what's the most important thing?
37:34
What's the most important thing you've learnt from her? You know, I've learnt something new from her every day, but she's all the character, the aspirations that I have, she seems to have been born with; she's the most honest person I've ever met, I've never seen her or heard her say anything pretentious or, even slightly exaggerated or dishonest, I've read a long time ago, I read an obituary that C.S. Lewis wrote about a friend of his and he described him as being as honest as daylight.
38:17
When I read that, I said I wish more than anything that somebody would say that about me. I want somebody to say that about me, and you know, when I met Cheryl and got to know her, I thought this person you'd say that about, and Larry David was part of that, right? You guys were close.
38:52
Larry introduced me, and he didn't want to; it wasn't like a blind date where I think when I went and asked him for permission to go out with her because I knew he had all these little rules. I said I knew that would be written down nowhere, but you should know them, and I knew that would be one of his rules because it was his TV wife. I met him at midnight at the Carla Hotel in New York. He was shooting there that year.
39:24
And I asked his permission to go out with Cheryl. He said I'm thrilled she's the best person I've ever met. He said she's the only one she's loved in Hollywood. She's the only person in this industry that doesn't have a single enemy. He was telling me the truth then, but I don't think he was being honest that he was happy that I was going out with her, and so I think she was probably a bit horrified, and Cheryl asked me if she had a different answer for she said it'd never work.
39:57
Do you have a favourite Curb episode? I have one episode in which I was instrumental in inspiring Larry; this one, in particular, was I was telling Larry one time about my first case as a lawyer where I was suing a ski resort for a client who got injured, and most places with ski resorts have shield laws because they're the rural industry that's very important. Hence, the states have laws to make sure.
40:46
Nobody can sue them because you assume the risk if you break your leg; it's your fault, not theirs. Finding somebody who had successfully sued a skier was tough, and I found there were two. It was scary, and New York called Bel Air, and there were two Hasidic Jews, a couple, oh God, who got on a chair lift. It was in the middle of the summer, but another had a couple who had gone on before them. The guy at the bottom of the lift wired the guy at the top and said on the bottom of the charge; he's going to have to go on the top of the head; He's going to have to go on the bottom of the head. He's going to have to go on the top of the head.
41:20
The last group has hit a couple that were on this hit. A couple got off, he closed the left side down, and he left the couple on the lift overnight. They were on the highest point on the left. There was an argument because there was a stigma in that sack that a single man couldn't be with a single woman after sundown; still, the stigma was on the woman, so the man didn't want to jump, and eventually, the woman jumped and was severely injured. I told Larry, and he made a movie about it.
41:57
The first thing that comes to mind is, what's your favourite TV show other than "Curb Your Enthusiasm," like right now or of all time? I recently watched a TV show I like, but I've constantly been changing it. Still, I love this show called The Patriot; I think there are a few performances, but it was severe.
42:35
Who's your favourite music artist of all time? I'd have to say Eric Clapton is charming. What's your favourite movie of all time? The Godfather. It is an excellent choice. Who is a favourite athlete? Maybe Saving Private Ryan. Okay, both are good. Do you have a famous athlete? Aaron Rodgers. What a week for him. And he's a supporter of yours, right? That is an excellent reason to like them. And what's your favourite quote or motto? Um, "Live Free or Die." Robert F. Kennedy, thank you so much for having us here. I appreciate the conversation. Thank you so open, thank you so much. That was great.
Full interview: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAuierJI8PY
