Friday, November 22, 2013

Half a Century

Thought for the day: Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.  [John F. Kennedy]

When this family picture was taken in Hyannis Port in August of 1962, no one realized how little future our American president had left. And it's hard to fathom that this day, November 22, 2013, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the day he was assassinated.

Fifty years. Half a century. Yet, those of us who are old enough to remember that day remember exactly what we were doing when we heard the news. Images of that day and the days that followed are indelibly etched into our minds. Jackie's chic pink suit, splattered with blood... young John-John saluting his father's coffin... the subsequent on-camera shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald... and so much more. But fifty years? Has it really been that long since the end of Camelot?

I wasn't planning to write about this today, but the fiftieth anniversary is hard to ignore. Especially when so many newspapers and television networks are commemorating it by highlighting every detail of those days. The images already residing in our minds and psyches are being shown on TV stations all over the world today, reinforcing them and threatening to break our hearts all over again.

But I don't want to relive that horrible day. Once was enough. Personally, I'd rather think about his life.


In the 1943 picture above, that's JFK on the far right, when he was serving as commander of  PT-109. After a Japanese vessel cut the PT in half, his actions to keep his crew alive were nothing short of amazing... the stuff of legends. Things like swimming three miles to shore... while towing an injured crew member by a strap, which he held in his teeth. A star-struck young boy asked him what it was like to be a war hero, and JFK responded, "It wasn't voluntary. They sunk my boat."

                                                     Anybody remember this song? [1962]



I think one of the things we found so intriguing about this good-looking president with the broad Boston accent and silver tongue was his role as a family man. It was endearing to see his young children scampering around the White House... to see pictures of him working at his desk in the Oval Office, with John-John playing beneath it... to see him walking beside his daughter Caroline while she sat on her pony Macaroni. Even though most of us couldn't identify with his wealthy background, when we saw pictures of him playing touch football with his brothers, or saw him walking and playing with his children, he seemed like one of us. And he seemed to care... about equal rights, about the poor, about the disenfranchised.

And, man, could he ever deliver a speech. Most of us remember his words, Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country," but a whole book could be written about some of his other lesser-known utterances, too.

Like these:

*  Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

* Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

* Do not pray for easier lives. Pray to be stronger men.

*As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

* When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.

* If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

*  Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the the discomfort of thought.

* The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.







Then there was the famous speech he delivered in Berlin. He took quite a media hit over that one. Here's what I wrote about it in a 2011 post:




Do you remember (or have you heard about) the speech President Kennedy made in West Germany on June 26, 1963? That was just twenty-two months after the Berlin wall went up, and he attempted to express his solidarity with the people of West Germany that day. His exact words were: Ich bin ein Berliner.

Unfortunately, a Berliner happens to be a type of jelly donut made in Berlin, and following that speech, President Kennedy got a merciless ribbing in the media for allegedly making a linguistic faux pas by declaring to the German people: I am a jelly donut.  He took the worst ribbing from America's so-called liberal press, but he also made the news in other parts of the world, as well, and for years,  teachers all over America referenced this speech when instructing their German classes about the proper and improper use of the word ein. Check out what appeared as recently as 1988 in the New York Times:

It's worth recalling, again, President John F. Kennedy's use of a German phrase while standing before the Berlin Wall. It would be great, his wordsmiths thought, for him to declare himself a symbolic citizen of Berlin. Hence, Ich bin ein Berliner. What they did not know, but could easily have found out, was that such citizens never refer to themselves as 'Berliners.' They reserve that term for a favorite confection often munched at breakfast. So, while they understood and appreciated the sentiments behind the President's impassioned declaration, the residents tittered among themselves when he exclaimed, literally, "I am a jelly-filled doughnut."
— William J. Miller, I Am a Jelly-Filled Doughnut, The New York Times April 30, 1988[10]

So why bring it up now? Because I just discovered that, in fact, President Kennedy's words were absolutely correct, even if they were delivered with a Boston accent. If he had said, "Ich bin Berliner," as his critics insisted he should have, he would have sounded foolish. Obviously, with the way he mangled the German language, he was most certainly not a native of Berlin. According to multiple evaluations of the speech by Germans, the way he said it actually indicated, "I am one with the people of Berlin," which is exactly what he wanted to say. And which is exactly how the Germans received it. None of the ridicule leveled at him ever came from the Germans.
***

Yes, JFK died fifty years ago today. But I'd rather remember the smiling faces as his open-topped car crept past a cheering Dallas crowd. I don't want to remember what happened to wipe the smile off our collective face. I don't want to remember the end of our collective idealism. I don't want to remember the end of Camelot.

With thousands of other people, I was in Washington the day of the funeral procession. It was a cold clear day, and the crowd was enormous. What stands out in my mind, even after all these years, is that in spite of the crowd... made up of people of all ages... there was no idle chatter when the casket rolled past. No coughs. No sneezes. The only sound I remember was the slow clop-clop of horses' hooves.


 Ah, Johnny, we barely knew ye... 

Although his light was extinguished far too soon, the memorial flame at Arlington Cemetery for John Fitzpatrick Kennedy, thirty-fifth president of the United States... will burn forever. 



                                        Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by an assassin's bullet.  [Robert Kennedy]

88 comments:

  1. no, I hadn't heard about the jelly donut speech. I was quite present in 1963 … just moved from Dallas to Shreveport … I knew Dealey Plaza well … I worked downtown ...

    This was an unbelievable absolutely heart stopping WTH … I had skipped work due to a hangover … turned on the TV around noon … walked into the kitchen… well, dragged myself into the kitchen (I was in PR at the time and we drank a lot ~ not proud) anyway … I heard … we repeat President Kennedy has been shot … and so forth…

    I came back in … sat down and … couldn't even cry. just stunned. I could have been in that crowd easily…. every where I traveled after that for a while… when people knew I was from Dallas .. OH that's where they kill Presidents…

    right…

    just unbelievable… and I would imagine the criticism never came from the Germans … the press in this country has been mead for a very long time. My Dad … a mnister … held prayer meetings so that JFK would NOT be elected … he would answer to the Pope not we the people…. sigh

    I worked in the PR department at a Newspaper in Shreveport when this happened… we watched every gruesome … every sorrowful event unfold…

    It would be so interesting to learn what all he could have accomplished …. then little John John… going down in a plane…. man oh man ~ I was in San Francisco when Robert was assassinated … unbelievable. MLK … what an era!

    And, your new post popped up just as I was about to close m'laptop and go to bed… NOW see what memories you've given me to take to my pillow… lol

    nice post, Susan… a very moving tribute… it was a Camelot time …

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    1. Sorry to stimulate those sad memory cells right before you went to bed. Your intimate knowledge of Dallas must have made it all feel even more personal and horrific. If that's even possible... the whole country, maybe even most of the world, seemed to go numb for a while.

      It's hard not to wonder "what might have been" if he'd finished out his presidency... if Bobby were elected, too. Assassins' bullets may not be able to still a martyr's cause, but they sure can change our outlook and course of history

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  2. A wonderful tribute to JFK. It's impossible to forget that fateful day and even more impossible to believe it was fifty years ago. Kennedy was highly intelligent, extremely perceptive in his leadership, and had a true passion and love for his country (something that is so very sorely missing in our present "leader").
    It seems that after his assasination, an entire era ended.

    I had my first year of German in school when I was eleven. I'm no expert but I'm thoroughly familiar with the language. Kennedy was absolutely correct when he said "Ich bin ein Berliner". Jelly donuts be damned....

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    1. It's hard to believe how quickly fifty years can pass, isn't it? Yeah, you're right; it was the end of an era. It wasn't exactly an end to our innocence, because our country had already survived some horrific patches of history, but it was more like a horrific blow to our idealism and belief in the possibilities of tomorrow. The end of Camelot.

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  3. ' If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.'
    Phrases like that make him a statesman rather than a politician.
    And indeed, lets focus on life - and making it better for all.
    Gorgeous, moving post. Thank you.

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    1. Exactly! You're right... he was a statesman. (But he was a darned good politician, too.)

      Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  4. I was born in 1963.. so I missed that era but I was immersed in it and I could see how sad that day have been... days like that are always etched in our minds....

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    1. You may have missed that era as far as personal memory, but it's impossible to escape the repercussions from those years.

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    1. Indeed. Like the poem says, "... nothing sadder than the words 'what might have been'..."

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  6. "Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future." JFK
    If only today's politicians could do likewise. I mean do it, not speak it. There's way too much quibbling over what the previous governing party did wrong.
    JFK certainly was one of the world's better than better men.

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    1. Absolutely. Today's politicians waste entirely too much time pointing the finger of blame at anyone and anything but themselves, and the malady seems to be worldwide.

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  7. I wish I had been able to experience living when he was president. It's amazing how long of an impact a man can have when he was only president for 2 1/2 years. Amazing. Truly one of the great leaders in the history of the world.

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    1. The only downside to the notion of being around to experience his presidency is you'd be O-L-D now. Or as I prefer to think of it, delightfully mature.

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  8. A lovely tribute to JFK. As Canadians you wouldn't think we would have been affected but strangely, we were. I was in high school at the time. A few people must have gone home for lunch because in the afternoon there were some rumours floating around which we basically laughed off..then..over the pa the announcement was made. You could have heard a pin drop in that huge school. We finished the day in silence..bussed home in silence...watched it on TV that night. Our sheltered little lives had been shattered.

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    1. I'm not surprised. Kennedy had such a warm personality, I think he captured the imagination and hearts of people living far beyond our borders. He wasn't just an American; he was a citizen of the world. What a perfect description: "our sheltered little lives had been shattered." That's exactly how I felt.

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  9. I was too little to remember but one can't help but wonder what might have happened if he'd lived.

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    1. Yes, four of the saddest words ever spoken: "what might have been".

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  10. Got to remember some of his speech comments...gold. Sad that we will never know what he might have accomplished. I suspect if he were alive we would have never escalated in Viet Nam, possibly the worst decision in my life time... We are still paying for that today!

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    1. Yes, he was quite the orator, and some of his speeches were brilliant. Hmm, interesting thought regarding the escalation in Vietnam. I wonder...

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  11. I was in Washington for his inauguration parade. It was cold as hell but I remember well him standing, in the open, as our high school band marched past.

    And, of course, I remember exactly the time and place where I was when he was killed. In the military, at a basketball game when our air base was put of full alert. The jets scrambled and they stuck a gun in my hands and put me on the base perimeter as front line defense.

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    1. How wonderful that you were there for the inauguration! (A much more pleasant memory than mine of the funeral.)

      I never really thought of it before, but being in the military at the time must have entailed a whole other level of concerns beyond what ordinary citizens experienced. It must have been pretty doggone scary.

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  12. You've written so well about this event about which the phrase "I remember it like it was yesterday" couldn't be more true for me. Such a hard time to remember, yet impossible to forget. I appreciate your focus on who he was and not just on how his life ended.

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    1. Thank you. I think placing all the emphasis on the assassination belittles the rest of his life. He was far more than what happened to him on that one day... or on any one day. Just like us.

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  13. Susan, great post. "Ah, yes, I remember it well."

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  14. What a lovely tribute, Susan. I wasn't around at the time, but everything I've learned about JFK convinces me he was a remarkable (if flawed) man. I think the world was much worse off for having lost him; if only he had lived, if only Lincoln had lived. What more might such great men have accomplished?

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    1. Thanks, Stephanie. No, he certainly wasn't perfect, but he represented the brightest and best among us at the time... and he inspired us as individuals to do more, be more. He made us believe in the potential ability and goodness of man. No telling what he might have accomplished if he'd lived longer. .

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  15. Great post, Susan. I enjoyed it.
    I also like the quotes you selected.
    In looking back, we should acknowledge that many pacifists have been assassinated. Why? Something to think about...

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    1. Thank you. I'm glad.

      Hmmm, while I agree that many pacifists have been assassinated, I don't think I'd put JFK into that category. He wasn't a war-monger, but he also believed in showing military strength when he deemed it necessary. Like during the Bay of Pigs incident.

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  16. Great tribute indeed
    One of the last honest ones at your american feed
    Was nowhere near around then though
    If i was I'd be an old fart now at my show lol

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    1. Oh my, how tastelessly tacky thou art
      To label a fine feminine specimen like me an old fart.
      That's okay, for after all, it's quite true,
      And what's more, some day the same thing will happen to YOU!

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  17. Hi Susan .. such a great post - I didn't know that Berlinner thing ... but I particularly like these words you quote above:

    "Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

    We've had a few programmes on those days ... it's interesting to look back and see what's happened in the intervening years ...

    Cheers Hilary

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    1. Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.

      If our shows and articles were focused more on what's happened in the past fifty years, that would be interesting, but too many of them are re-showing the old news footage of the day... and digging into possible conspiracy theories. Frankly, after all these years, I don't know what purpose it would serve to uncover some nefarious plot or second assassin. Bottom line is, he'd still be dead.

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  18. Such an unbelievable time! This is a wonderful post today. You have done an excellent presentation.

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    1. It sure was! Unbelievable and unforgettable. Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.

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  19. I cried 50 years ago & I cried again today!!

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    1. I didn't cry today, but I've been avoiding the TV, and haven't read the newspaper yet, so I suspect I will before the day is over.

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  20. What a wonderful post, such a good choice to write about his life. I love those quotes, they certainly should be read by the politicians of today. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about President Kennedy with us. I was here then, I was 23, since I wrote about it a while back, I decided to finish my random five friday with something that happened to me that day.

    The strongest image I have from that day is of Nassau Street in Princeton, cars stopped, people gathering around to listen to the latest news from all these car radios. How things have changed.

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    1. Thank you. I'm glad you liked it; it's always more meaningful to me to focus on a person's life than his death. Okay, here I come to see your random five...

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  21. Wonderful, touching ,sad and uplifting post today.
    I remember exactly were I was as you said.

    Adore the new header photo !

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Thank you. Hard to forget something like that, even if we wanted to.

      I'm glad you like the autumn picture. I figured it was time to show a little cheerful color, even if the trees in our yard are mostly showing browns this year.

      Cheers!

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  22. I've never heard the PT-109 song before. I've heard the allegations about the "jelly doughnut" speech, and I'm glad to say I always suspected the critics were incorrect. I was four in 1963. I don't remember learning that he had died. I remember the funeral procession playing over and over on our TV with the snowy black-and-white picture. I remember my dad explaining the riderless horse to me. I associate the funeral with Daddy taking the time to tell me what was happening.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. I'm glad your dad took the time to explain Black Jack (the riderless horse's name) to you. That's a very touching image.

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  23. I was a few years from being born when Pres. Kennedy died, but it is impossible to miss the imagery, the ballyhoo, the memorials every year. They're iconic.
    Do you know there are more books written about Kennedy than any other person?

    As someone said on a memorial program we watched on Sunday "It signaled the day optimism died in America and cynicism began."

    If I am to believe history and all the I read/see I would say that is a pretty accurate quote.

    Such a beautiful tribute Sis.

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    1. No, I didn't know more books had been written about Kennedy than anyone else, but I'm not surprised. That quote about optimism/pessimism is pretty spot on... if we let it be. JFK was a brilliant optimist, and to let his death be the excuse for embracing pessimism just doesn't seem right. (So I ain't gonna do it!)

      Thanks, sweetie. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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  24. Like FDR said after the attack on Pearl Harbor, days marred by unspeakable violence, this will always be remembered.

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    1. Yes. Some days are deeply ingrained into our collective consciousness.

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  25. I've been avoiding it all day - switching off the news stations running it. Too sad, but my greatest sadness is the discontent now filling our world and the ease it's become to forget the true builders of this amazing world. Turning over and over in his grave as he watches the disaster his predecessors have made of any true movement forward. Forgiving his assassin is probably much easier than forgiveness of the present status.

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    1. Me, too. I didn't watch any of the shows on TV about i, eithert. I agree that the discontent in the world today is hard to stomach, but I haven't given up on humanity yet. I still have to believe in good over evil and idealism over nihilism.

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  26. What a wonderful, wonderful tribute you wrote! Loved all the quotes - I didn't know all of them, and of some, I didn't know they were JFK's.

    I was too little to remember the day he was shot, but it was big news in Germany, too. He was very popular there, and the German newspaper I read online has been filled with tributes to him and articles about him during the last few days. It was mentioned in a commentary today that more than 40,000 books have been written about Kennedy's assassination, so I think SkippyMom's comment is probably true.

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    1. Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.

      Too bad you were too young to remember. It'd be interesting to hear the perspective from a native German about that speech he gave in Berlin.

      Wow! Forty thousand! That's an amazing number. (Skippy's a real smarty.)

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  27. Moving post. Regrettable day. I remember.

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  28. Ah, Johnny, we hardly knew you. However, with the hundreds, maybe thousands of books written about you, we probably know too much.

    However, I will always remember that as a teenager, I stood in a huge crowd waiting for him to arrive at a campaign stop. There were so many people lining the roads that he and his entourage were traveling, that he was two hours late. He was worth the wait. I will forever cherish that memory.

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    1. How thrilling that you were there to see him on one of his campaign stops. Did you just see his entourage drive past, or were you actually able to hear his speech? Either way, I'd certainly cherish that memory, too.

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    2. Saw his red hair and heard his speech. I fell in love at first sight.

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    3. That's FABULOUS! I'll betcha didn't have a camera, either. It never occurred to me to take one when I went to D.C. for the funeral procession. Not that we needed one. The images are safe and sound in both of our hearts.

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  29. Excellent post. Thanks for your comment over on my blog. I realized this morning that I had fat-fingered the date so I had to jump on there and fix it.
    R

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    1. Thanks. Glad ya liked it. It was my pleasure to comment on your post. I was surprised at how few bloggers wrote about Kennedy yesterday.

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  30. Dear Susan,
    thank you for that very moving post!
    I can confirm (and I studied German literature and language, and think that as a German I will know), that he was absolutely correct in saying "Ich bin ein Berliner." This is the way a citizen of Berlin would - and does! - say it too! To make the other interpretation is malicious, trying to find fault in something absolutely correct - and using the lack of knowledge in German, that most people in your country of course will have, to belittle Mr. Kennedy. When President Kennedy said 'Ich bin ein Berliner' he showed his bonding and solidarity with the Germans, and they still remember and love him for these words, and the generous Americans as a nation for their help in Germany after the war till today, with grateful hearts. It vexes me that there are always a few ungrateful spiteful people (here), who get the attention of the media, but that says more about the media than about the majority of the grateful Germans, who are not mentioned by media.

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    1. Dear Britta,

      Thank you so much! It's good to know from someone who actually knows first-hand that JFK was indeed correct. The media really gave him a hard time about it. I know what you mean about the handful of ranters getting media coverage, while the majority of satisfied folks are ignored. Anything to sell a paper. We used to call it yellow journalism, but anymore, it's become the standard.

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  31. Assassination: the worst possible solution to end a disagreement. I couldn't agree more.

    This was a lovely post (though I confess I shed a tear and I wasn't even around when JFK was President). Yes, it is better to remember the good things he did than to focus on that one terrible moment in Dallas.

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    1. I'm glad you liked the post, even more so since you don't have a first-hand knowledge of him. (Could be I'm a frustrated teacher at heart.)

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  32. I was too young to remember him (I would have just turned two when he was shot), but was schooled in Catholic schools where he was revered.

    When I was older, I studied his presidency in some detail, and it did not live up to the hype (in my opinion).

    But some of the quotes you revisited are quite remarkable, and one of his actions, while I oppose it from a Constitutional viewpoint (taxpayers should not have paid for it), I think was quite inspirational and used to use it as an example of a "stretch" goal to my staff.

    Before an American had been in space, John F. Kennedy challenged America to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

    And America delivered.

    Setting aside my issues of constitutionality, this is quite an achievement.

    What has America strived for since?

    Low-calorie Twinkies?

    Hatchbacks on their SUV's that automatically adjust in height so they do not get scratched by the garage door (which is also automatic)?

    Thinner iPads?

    JFK had vision that inspired people-and that is a rare quality in the presidents that seem to make it through our process.

    You can't even say that about Obama when you recall all those teary eyes at his first inauguration. HE did not inspire those people-any successfully black candidate would have done.

    And even if JFK had made that grammar error, it doesn't matter. The nuns at my school were right to revere JFK even if it was for the wrong reason (they did because he was Catholic).

    After all, who doesn't love a jelly donut?

    LC

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    1. Since I don't know what "hype" you're referring to regarding his presidency, I can't comment on whether he lived up to it or not. Perhaps you're talking about the way he was lauded by the nuns. If so, that's probably true. They probably built him up bigger than life, and nobody could live up to that. Few people would argue that JFK was our greatest president, and in fact, many say his brother Robert was the real brains in the administration, and that he would have been a much better president. For me, JFK's greatness stemmed from his ability to connect with people and inspire them to do more and be more, as you mentioned in your comment. And not just Americans, but people throughout the free world. As for Obama, you may be right about some his first inauguration. Some of the tears may have been about his skin color, but I think a lot of people were overwhelmed with the hopeful JFK-like possibilities presented by his rhetoric, too.

      Not ME. I LOVE jelly donuts!

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  33. Hi Susan:
    I jogged over to this post from Carolyn's blog post of yesterday. I want to thank you for your eloquent tribute to President Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of that terrible day in our Nation's history. Believe it or not, I drove through Dallas yesterday and saw the flags flying at half staff; but, because I was thinking it was the 21st, I couldn't figure old why they were displayed so. When I arrived in Corsicana and checked my email ..... RING, the bell went off in my head.
    I was not able to vote for Kennedy, but as a young married woman of 19 (with two babies) I was devastated by his murder and the loss for all of us. I'm going to send a link to this blog post for my children and grandchildren to read. Thank you so much.
    Mary-Pat

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    1. Hi, Mary-Pat. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I do appreciate it.

      From what I saw in today's newspaper, Dallas went all out this year for the commemoration, not just with flags at half-mast, but with banners and music and speeches. The whole shebang. And you were there, even if it just was a drive-through.

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  34. Susan...a touching tribute. Thank you for sharing the quotes. While Pres. Kennedy was a gifted politician, he was ever the statesman...always emphasizing the importance of country over self. Would that we could bring this emphasis back to those in Congress today! Thank you for sharing. Susan

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    1. Hi, Susan. (What a lovely name!) Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. You're right. We sure could use some statesmanship in Congress.

      Thanks so much for stopping by, and for signing on as a new follower. Welcome aboard! Nice to meetcha.

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  35. A wonderful tribute to a wonderful forward-thinking man. I remember exactly where I was when I heard of his death...sitting in a car outside a petrol station waiting for my first husband who was inside talking to friends.
    We watched the film JFK with Kevin Costner on 22/11 which brought back so many memories of that fateful day 50 years ago.
    I think JFK and his brother Robert were hated by many people because they could see what was wrong with the world and wanted to try and make it a better place for people to live. Those that are dishonest and corrupt don't want that type of world so the two had to be got rid of and I think the world suffered as a result of their deaths.

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    1. It seems hard to imagine in today's world, but some people hated them because they were... (gasp!)... Catholic. Plus their stands on poverty and civil rights. But you're right, they DID want to make the world a better place, and I guess there were some people in the world who were perfectly happy with the status quo. As there are today.

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  36. "It wasn't voluntary. They sank my boat."

    I love that quote. As the Chinese character makes so clear: In crisis there is both danger and opportunity.

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    1. I love that quote, too.

      Yeah, danger and opportunity may both be inherent in a crisis, but it takes someone special to appreciate the opportunity part.

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  37. Have you been to the JFK Library in Boston, Susan? I went there some years ago and really enjoyed it. My parents were big Kennedy supporters so I've heard so much about this day over the course of my life. How interesting that you were in Washington for the funeral procession. I've no doubt that's something you'd never forget.

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    1. No, I've never been to Boston, but I'm sure I'd love it. Not just for the JFK library, either; the place oozes history.

      You're right; that day in D.C. left an indelible impression I'm not likely to forget.

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  38. A watershed in American history, for sure. I can't believe that fifty years after we still believe that there was only one person involved. But I know that my answer might trigger off all kinds of conspiracy theories! :-) Sorry. Great post, deep feelings.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. Yes, it sure was a watershed moment, but not everyone believes there was only one person involved. There are still quite a few conspiracy theories floating around.

      Greetings back atcha from Georgia.

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  39. Lovely tribute, Susan. Although I was very young at the time, my parents were great Kennedy supporters and his death cast a pall over home that I will never forget. Living in Massachusetts during this 50th anniversary of his assassination brought a lot of those old emotions to the forefront.

    While it's important we never forget, it's imperative that we move forward. I've no doubt that JFK would tell us not dwell in what might have been, but to put our energies into what can be.

    VR Barkowski

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  40. 50 years...that's surreal. You've highlighted some great quotes. This is a nice post to come across.

    Have a happy Thanksgiving if I don't see you before!

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    1. It sure is. I never would have believed fifty years could go by so fast.

      And a very happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, too!

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  41. I also hadn't heard the jelly donut story. It's hard to believe that fifty years have gone by. The family had to endure so much, and Caroline continues to approach life with grace and dignity like her mother. Thanks for the thoughtful tribute with excellent quotes to remember.

    Julie

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    1. I know. I used to think fifty years was a long time. Boy, was I dumb! (Or just young, maybe.)

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  42. I'm American but I live in London now and when it was the 50th anniversary I kept wondering why there were showing so many specials on JFK here. Then it hit me.

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    1. I think JFK was probably our most popular president in other parts of the world, so I'm not surprised to hear the anniversary of his death got so much coverage in England.

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