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Arnold Schwarzenegger's run for governor of California has sent those principles on a high-profile collision course.
So far, the urge to uphold family unity is winning the battle, and few Kennedys are speaking publicly about the matter.
Senator Edward Kennedy issued a statement that read: "I like and respect Arnold, and I've been impressed with his efforts to promote after-school education in California and his willingness to come to Congress and the administration to fight for that program. But I'm a Democrat, and I don't support the recall effort."
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When Mr. Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver in 1986, he joined a family dedicated to public service.
The patriarch, Sargent Shriver, who served as George McGovern's running mate in the 1972 presidential election, founded the Peace Corps in 1961. He and his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver - the younger sister of John F. Kennedy - founded the Special Olympics, which their son Tim now runs. Mark Shriver is the vice-president of Save the Children. Two more sons are involved in other philanthropic ventures.
The silence that has descended upon the clan suggests the Kennedys may see Mr. Schwarzenegger's bid as a smirch on their good name.
Michael Shriver would not comment yesterday, though he told The Washington Post earlier: "I'm not talking. He [Mr. Schwarzenegger] is my brother-in-law and I'm supporting him and that's all."
While they are usually voluble over the accomplishments of family members, they refrain from speaking when confronted with scandal, such as the rape accusation against William Kennedy Smith in the spring of 1991 and Michael Kennedy's affair with an underage babysitter that came to light in 1997.
In a February, 2002, on-line chat to promote his movie Collateral Damage, Mr. Schwarzenegger praised his father-in-law as a "powerful force to get those programs done.
Naturally, when you meet people like that and they have such a great political background and know so much about it, you learn a lot from it."
He added: "I think, you know, I had an interest in giving back to the country anyway. But I think that being with this family definitely has a very big impact on me."
Still, Laurence Leamer, the author of two Kennedy biographies including the forthcoming Sons of Camelot, said of Mr. Schwarzenegger's bid: "This wasn't the Kennedy family getting together in a council and deciding who's going to run next, that's for sure."
But Mr. Leamer pointed out that there are many political stripes on the Kennedy tiger.
"If you look at the political spectrum of the Kennedys, you go on the right from Doug Kennedy, who's a libertarian, to Ted Kennedy on the left, who's a liberal Democrat - and actually Arnold is right in the middle of that as a liberal Republican."
And despite his official party affiliation, Mr. Schwarzenegger may not be too different from his in-laws.
A March, 2001, article in Premiere magazine included various accounts of the star groping women while making and promoting his films.
The article's primary allegation was that the Terminator actor was able to use his power in Hollywood to terminate negative press. No longer.
Yesterday, as Mr. Schwarzenegger faced tough questions during his first TV interviews with journalists rather than talk-show hosts, he looked out of his depth.
He was unable to offer specific ideas for rescuing the California economy except to suggest that leadership is needed.
"Leadership means that you set goals for yourself, as I have always done in my life, go after those goals and accomplish them," he said during an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show.
Asked twice by Mr. Lauer whether he would release his tax returns to the press, Mr. Schwarzenegger said he was unable to hear the question.
He said the same thing when asked for his position on California's controversial law regarding paid family leave, against which some businesses have protested for its cost to their bottom lines.
When Mr. Lauer repeated the question, Mr. Schwarzenegger hesitantly said he would have to think about the issue.
"I would have to get into that, because as you know I'm very much for families - I'm very much for children and children's issues," he said.
To date, Mr. Schwarzenegger's chief political achievement has been creating Proposition 49, an after-school funding program that passed last November.
