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JFK –  How His Assassination Changed America – John F Kennedy Pictures, Marilyn Monroe, JFK Store

Time magazine’s cover story(11–13)  is titled “The Moment That Changed America,” and it features some newly discovered color pictures of the Kennedys riding through Dallas before the fatal shots rang out. Reporter David Von Drehle writes the piece, calling the tragedy on Nov. 22, 1963 “shocking beyond almost anything else in American history.”   I would say that the moment’s resulting aftermath was even worse – how it dramatically changed, or contributed heavily,  to the largely rudderless,  schizophrenic  society that followed in it’s wake.   KENNEDY 50th Year Anniversary

 

November 22 Marks the Fifty-first year since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. On last year’s 50th Anniversary we saw perhaps a half dozen new  TV movies, videos / documentaries – and we’ve already seen a number of books come out such as Bill O’reilly’s best selling ‘Killing Kennedy’ ,   made into a TV movie .

 

       A single gunshot 51 years ago today changed the trajectory of the 1960s and beyond. The world instantly became a different place. Even Thanksgiving, which would, ironically, follow a few days later couldn’t help to remove the awful image and taste  of the young, popular President snuffed out in an instant  as he rode in an open limousine along a Dallas parade route in close view of thousands of  cheering admirers.

           In seconds all the hopes and dreams represented by Kennedy were dashed.  The happy days smiles of those in Dallas who had come out to get a chance to see their President suddenly turned to frowns and tears. An older President Johnson who would be sworn in as the new President moments later, try as he may  couldn’t replace Kennedy – nor, probably, could any President since. 51 years later the  United States and World still hasn’t recovered the optimistic,  good feeling  of the Kennedy years.

I remember as a grade school kid in 1962 my mother taking me to see President Kennedy at University of California, Berkeley, for the Charter day address. I didn’t really appreciate at the time  the President’s message  or the magnitude of his presence there. All I knew is that there were 88,000 presidential admirers packing the UC Stadium , taking time off on a week day to be there to hear and see the 35th President of United States. Can you imagine that many people showing up today for our current president or any other modern president since Kennedy, for that matter?

UC. BERKELEY Charter Day Address, March 23, 1962   It was rather eerie but interesting  – thanks TO modern technology – to  be able to listen to this Kennedy Charter Day Address 50 years lat er, from March 23, 1962 ,  and really understand it for the first time.  Here’s to you Mom, for bringing me to this historic date.   

    I think having seen President  Kennedy in person made it even   harder for this boy,at the time,  to fathom what we lost in President Kennedy one and a half years later,  on November 22, 1963.  Presidents weren’t supposed to die in office.    I remember not being able to finish my school lunch of macaroni and cheese after the news spread around school that Kennedy was killed.   My life – perhaps all of our lives – changed on that day with that single moment in time when Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President Kennedy – or, at least the Warren Commission’s version; we still arent’ sure of the perpetrator(s) but the main point is what we lost.  (People look to conspiracies as a way of explaining and coping with terrible experiences.)  

      I could literally feel and see things change around me during the   months and years after Kennedy. Some have called it the ‘end of innocence.’ The optimistic, happier times seemed to darken as society took on an discordant, often contentious and sometimes violent tone, which has hardly let up ever since. 

     One cannot say for sure whether  society would have changed anyway had Kennedy lived.  But, President Kennedy brought with him a positivity and excitement  that we haven’t seen since. They say the music died in 1959 with the plane crash involving  talented, young  Buddy Holly, one of the first and one of the best who wrote and sang  very moving,  melodic  music.  One might say that everything else went down on November 22, 1963 when Kennedy died.  Since then, despite major efforts, legislation and  billions of dollars trying to correct social iniquities and other problems in society, things seem to have only gotten worse. Time does not always heal and, sadly, we have not healed since the death of  Kennedy, in our opinion.     

      One can note the changes in society reflected in our media, music, movies , etc.,  which have taken on a significantly edgier tone since Kennedy. The crime rate has more than doubled. Today we are a less educated and more violent society than when Kennedy lived.  One would think that 50 years time would be time enough to correct most of those underlying social problems in society    that may have been simmering when Kennedy lived , yet things have only gotten worse rather than better with no foreseeable hope on the horizon. Throw all the taxpayer money you want at problems today –  it’s not going to bring us back to a time and place  First Lady Jackie Kennedy originally dubbed ‘Camelot’ . The early 60s was a time when peo ple still  left their doors unlocked, children played in the streets and neighbors actually visited one another .  Even without the technology that would later promise to make our lives easier and better , life was  much simpler and probably people were  happier.

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KENNEDY  ’50 YEARS’  T-shirts Now Available  –  Give a memorable gift and keep this great President ‘s memory strong.   Also, customise your own  Posters, Mugs,  other wearables and specialty media

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Interestingly, outside of the South, even the races seemed to get along better in the early 60s than they do today,  despite all the new found ‘understanding’ and social programs developed in the past 50 years. Bussing, welfare, food stamps… Nothing seems to have helped;  if anything, they’ve made things worse. We’ve seen flashes of a return to the Kennedy style during the presidencies of Clinton and Reagan but those times were fleeting,  without the same overall impact. All of our technological, medical and so-called educational advances have not helped to right the ship. No, Kennedy was not a perfect man or president, by any means, but he instilled fundamental christian values, if you will – basic, common sense, brotherly, core golden rules that brought us together during the postwar era and have since seemed to  go astray.

Despite what many considered a handicap in being Catholic, Kennedy was  able to unite  religions and races,  unlike any leader since his time. Can simply having the right president in office right all society’s wrongs? Of course not, but it can go a long way. Without opening up Fort Knox, Kennedy remained a friend to all races, colors and creeds. Even without finalizing any major social legislation , Kennedy was able to instill in the masses a sense of hope and success. During his presidency unemployment was lower than it is today and there wasn’t the need or   ‘benefit’ of millions of dollars in unemployment / aid. Outside of the South, ask minorities who lived during the Kennedy era about race relations    and they’ll likely tell you that things were better then.

WILDWOOD DAYS,  sung by Bobby Rydell , is  said to have been ‘the song’ that ushered out the Kennedy Era. (Dr Demento and others )  Rydell’s Cameo Parkway label spawned and capitalized on the dance craze of Kennedy era America  It was  a big hit at the time with upbeat lyrics and music  reflecting the feel-good Kennedy Years. Celebrating the fabled amusement park in New Jersey,  as WILDWOOD DAYS began fading from  the music charts,so came  the disintegration of Camelot – the JFK era of hope and optimism.

President Kennedy was a warm, highly intelligent man   of good humor. He was one who did make a real difference. Yes, one man can direct a nation and Kennedy did that better than anyone since. Politics didn’t matter -when both democrats as well as republicans respected the President  The likes of a man of the stature of Kennedy have been sorely missed ever since we lost him on that fateful day , November, 22, 1963.  I remember it well.  One man’s memories and thoughts.

In conclusion, it seems that much or most of the media coverage of President Kennedy’s 5oth anniversary   focused on the ‘morbid curiosity’  and controvery surrounding Kennedy’s death rather than looking at the man and his contributions – or even his mistakes.

Kennedy only served three short years with no major legislation, yet he managed to keep us out of war, specifically the Cuban Missle Crisis -which may go down as his crowning single achievement ,  watched over a strong economy and was a popular president with ALL the races.  He was a strong proponent of NASA and space exploration, which contributed to the optimism and hope he brought to the Presidency, and it’s those latter ‘intangibles’ including his charisma that may be Kennedy’s greatest calling . He oversaw an era of prosperity, quality cultural material and ‘happy days,’ which quickly vanished with Kennedy’s passing.   Had he lived we would have likely   seen some REAL tangibles like the civil rights legislation that President Johnson passed in his stead ;  but coming from Kennedy might have made a difference. It would have been interesting to see Kennedy’s perhaps modified approach to that .  A lot of ‘what if’s’ and we could go on all day discussing them. (There are some good books and video out such as ‘If Kennedy Lived’ by Jeff Greenfield that go into this speculation more. )

Most people today were not alive when Kennedy was assasinated and don’t  know that much about him.Hopefully, these anniversaries will bring out the legacy of Kennedy a little more – more than conspiracy theories or sordid details about Kennedy’s weaknesses.

We’ve learned a lot , too, about our 35th and , probably ,  one of the truly great Presidents.

by BK

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