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BS ‘n’ About…
JFK
JFK is one of the most contradictory, enigmatic, and controversial figures in American history. The tragedy which was his life and family make it almost impossible to assess him objectively. His abrupt removal from power make his a legacy almost impossible to ascertain. But one thing is certain. November 22, 1963 was one of the great turning points in the history of our nation. Overnight we were a different people.
Dealey Plaza cost us our innocence and ability to accept our leaders unquestioningly. Three shots replaced them with a cynicism and mistrust that still cloud the national consciousness. Jack Kennedy represented the pinnacle of a golden age in America. He was heir to the wealth, power, and position we had achieved by industrializing after the Civil War and using it to win WWII. He was young, good looking, well-married, smart, rich, had a great resume, and a family history that read like a novel. We watched him grow up in the newsreels. He was ours. He was so very American. He stood for a fairy tale world where we could do no wrong and there were no limits. Camelot. This was both a good and a bad thing.
His three years in office were a heady time. He fathered the civil rights movement, sent us on our way to the moon, and shipped Peace Corps volunteers to the far corners of the Earth. He also botched an invasion of Cuba, stuck our noses into Vietnam, and nearly started WWIII with the Russians.
JFK shot from the hip. It is probably what got him killed and undoubtedly would have created a much different legacy were we not viewing him through the rose-colored glasses of martyrdom. …a martyrdom made all the more powerful with the publication of the Warren Commission Report and its ‘lone gunman’ conclusion which not a single one of us believed.
What November 22nd tore from us, the Warren Commission Report took away forever: Trust between a people and its government. By the time Bobby and Reverend King were shot, we no longer expected straightforward, honest answers. We looked for conspiracies. When the trust breaks down between a people and its government, everything becomes a conspiracy.
We, the People felt that FDR, Truman, Ike, Jack, and LBJ were telling us the truth when they hit the airwaves. They were telling us what they had to say, not what some fancy speechwriter had written for them. We felt their passion. We shared their pain. We watched them age. We, the People were still part of the process.
Dealey Plaza marked the beginning of the end to the fairy tale America in which most Baby Boomers were raised. The Warren Report had cost Washington the People’s trust. The ‘60’s cost the people Washington’s trust. This mutual mistrust has laid the foundation for the infinitely harsher and more cynical world we live in today. The fundamental relationship between the American people and their government has changed.
Two thousand years ago, Julius Caesar’s untimely death marked the passage from Republic to Empire. Rome would never be the same. The citizens would be bought off with Bread & Circuses, bribed with necessities and novelties. Spectators: no longer part of the process. Fodder for the Legions.
Like Julius Caesar 2000 years before him, Jack Kennedy was a charismatic shining light snuffed out before his time. Both lived at the cusp of change, their drive and charisma changing everything around them. Should we be so lucky as to be looking back upon these days from 2000 years in the future, will the passing of JFK mark a passage as defined as that marked by the passing of Caesar? Will it mark the end of an era? …the fall of the Republic?
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