What we lost - 22/11/1963 - JFK

[Guest]

My father was a very stoic, alpha guy, born in 1946, at the start of the boomer generation, perhaps a celebration at the end of the war. I never saw him cry until he was old and grey at his first cousin’s funeral. There was an exception in his youth, that was as a 17 year old when he heard the news that JFK had been shot dead in Dallas. He said; lots of people wept, almost inexplicably for a man they never knew, on the other side of the world. It was a spontaneous reaction from deep within. We have these tribal inclinations from the depths of antiquity in our evolutionary past, that are hard wired. The west and free world had just endured the death of their spiritual leader. A man with many of the qualities that men and women desired in different ways. A leader who had to face a tremendous spectre at the most dangerous time in history. It was JFK who said “we shall bear any burden” and he was a man who held the weight of the world and human destiny on his shoulders. When you lose a leader like that, it was bound to destabilise people. In some ways it was the death of their hope and optimism, and the renewed fear that we would return to the despair and trauma of the world wars. People use the word seminal too frequently these days, but, that moment left an indelible mark on human history, with all of the ingredients of a greek tragedy. 
 

I discovered JFK through the words of my father but, only really began to understand John F Kennedy and his significance in my mid 30’s. I stumbled across one of his speeches and experienced the charisma, the charm, the wit, the class of what a true leader should be. It was very apparent how bankrupt we’d been since in these departments on the leadership front. I say we; because despite being a Brit with Irish and Scotch ancestry, America has led the world in my time, it set the example, it was the harbinger of progress in my lifetime, as well as my fathers, and everybody in the culture lost something when JFK died. 
 

The skeptics will ask what JFK did? They’ll downplay his significance, standing on his memory. What I would say to them is; you had a room full of generals wanting to nuke the USSR (and China) in a first strike policy, creating untold destruction, on an unimaginable scale. It could have ended the world. My mother and father were well within the Soviet strike capability. Would Britain be a radioactive wasteland now? President Kennedy, his brother Robert and McNamara were the only ones against this first strike policy in that tense room. This act of aggression would have likely killed at least 140 million Americans, which to the maniacal generals was acceptable collateral damage. He recognised mediation was necessary between the US hardliners and the Soviet Union. He made concessions, recognising that the enemy needed to feel they had gained something by also stepping back. President Kennedy paid in blood for his conviction to peace, detentes and rapprochement's. He said “we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures.” He didn’t want his kids or anyone else’s being exposed to radioactive rain and cancers. He pushed for the nuclear test ban treaty, at a time when western and eastern nations were hell bent on producing ever more powerful nuclear weapons. Did you know the 1954 Castle Bravo nuclear test could have killed everyone on earth, and the military decided that as the risk was small, to proceed with it?! Christ, the world JFK inherited from Eisenhower was one hell bent on its own destruction. Governments and people were still gripped by a fear psychosis from world war two. We should be grateful that JFK took us back toward some of the ideas of FDR, who was also not a proponent of a neo-colonialism.

For those who critique JFK, we surely all recognise he was human, a man who made mistakes, like every one of us and every man in history. But, in a world where we knit pick at every tiny detail, what is the bigger picture we should see with JFK? My conclusion is that the world was better off with him than without him. Has America or the world had a better leader since? JFK was very bright, he was reasonable, he had a class, a quality, that hasn’t been emulated since. He also listened hard.
 

The reason so many gravitated to him worldwide is that he represented something better. His new frontier represented hope, optimism, just a chance at something better. Who wouldn't want that after the despair of the middle of the twentieth century? Who wouldn’t have wanted a better future for their children? 
 

We never saw John F. Kennedy grow old, his flaws were never really exposed in his lifetime. Because of that he is frozen in time, still somewhere near his youth. We hold any of his perfection dear and perhaps hold others to that standard. For those who say that we didn’t have time to see him fail miserably, I would say that we also didn’t have time to see him be all that he could. Had he lived 5 more years or twenty more years, perhaps the world we live in now would be profoundly better?
 

His life was an unfinished work. what we are left with is his legacy. A legacy that the supporters of his assassination have done their best to rewrite, and diminish the importance of. I would say in the worlds of Tennyson (used in the Oliver Stone film, JFK);  “do not forget your dying king.”

 

Lest we forget, your king didn’t have to work. He could have made the easy choice and lived off his father’s wealth, Joe Snr was the 14th richest man in America. He could have also made the safe and easy choice not to betray his social class. He could have acquiesced, gone with the grain on so many occasions. Instead he took the more unpopular, difficult path, “not because it was easy, because it was hard”, which proved more injurious to himself and family. It takes tremendous courage to take the course that JFK did. He trusted his instincts and chose to have the brightest people around him that he could. What an attractive thing it was to see a leader with courage and conviction. 
 

JFK lived every moment, he had to, as a guy who had his last rights read four times before Dallas. His Addisons, Colitis, lifelong sickness made him make the most of every single minute. I am certain he didn’t want to die but, viewing his reading list tells me that he knew their was no value in an ignominious death at the hands of an illness that had caused him so much suffering. He battled and fought his entire life. He projected vim and vigour, whilst quietly suffering, in and out of hospital. He didn’t want to be pitied or looked upon as weak. Most of us have no idea what its like to have the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, in our prime, that our life and all that we love could be gone any day. JFK chose to live every moment, and “face any foe”. He knew who most of his enemies were. As Marcus Aurelius once said; one can only smile in the face of death. He didn’t cower from his, not in the Pacific in WW2 or in Dallas.
 

A cynic can say that he never should have gone to Dallas. What kind of a leader hides in his own country? What kind of a country do you live in if the most important man can’t travel safely? JFK was taken, tragically, mercilessly, in the most heinous way. But, JFK never took a step back from challenges, he tried somewhat in vain. In my opinion we should celebrate courage, bravery, and conviction to ideals. These were the ways of the ancient Greeks and Roman’s that JFK read about. Perhaps we are lucky that this public execution happened in some small or big way? Yes, democracy, the free world, hope and optimism lost, and those are huge things. Would we care so much about JFK and his death now should he have been taken by fever or a plane crash? His death was an example to anyone else that thought about idealism or betraying their class. It also gave JFK a degree of immortality, it marked a turning point in history, one that can never truly be forgotten, and one that is taken into our hearts. The JFKA has forced us to educate ourselves and reeducate ourselves, we should all be grateful. There is tremendous value in martyrdom. As long as you recognise that’s what he was, and not some poor victim of a disenfranchised pro-communist nut. Those of us with a hint of intelligence understand that a conspiracy killed JFK. 

 

With all of that said and considered, there is one thing that you should all think about, if nothing else above appeals. Before JFK, MLK Jr and others, black people and people of colour in America walked the land not free. They were oppressed by a system, living in fear and hate, no opportunity to have confidence or the most basic fundamentals in life. JFK just being alive, meant those people who suffered so much, could hold their heads just a little bit higher. Their spirits were lifted. You should be glad he existed for the briefest of moments. JFK was a part of setting a new trajectory. He made things just that little bit better. The world is bereft of these characters, today. America is a nation of immigrants, JFK’s family were some of them too. Perhaps that is where his empathy came from. 

 

American exceptionalism is a strange term. It’s perhaps commonly accepted opinion that it was a myth, it never really existed to some. In my opinion, even though America has a short history, there have certainly been exceptional Americans. Was JFK one? He wrote “Profiles in courage” as a young man. It was clear he knew where the bar or threshold was set in terms of heroism or standards. Perhaps JFK was an exceptional American, some of his ideals and thoughts surely were. He inspires me, he is one of my heroes. We need these archetypes in our lives, people that inspire us and make us want to do better. 
 

RIP President John F. Kennedy.

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Chris Barnard

[Lori Spencer]

Thank you for sharing this insightful and loving tribute. 
 

On this forum, we shall never forget our dying King — even when it seems the mainstream media has forgotten him, and the academic establishment continues to further distort his legacy. 
 

I was deeply moved by your post. Those words were just what I needed on this dark anniversary that still haunts me every year. Well said, Chris. 😔 
 

 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Lori Spencer said:

Thank you for sharing this insightful and loving tribute. 
 

On this forum, we shall never forget our dying King — even when it seems the mainstream media has forgotten him, and the academic establishment continues to further distort his legacy. 
 

I was deeply moved by your post. Those words were just what I needed on this dark anniversary that still haunts me every year. Well said, Chris. 😔 
 

 

Thanks, Lori. Just trying to sort the spelling and grammar issues with no reading glasses on my tiny phone screen, without waking the person next to me.

I really think JFK did some tremendous good and we should celebrate his finer moments. 
 

 

[Matthew Koch]

Thanks for sharing Chirs, 


That President and the Press speech is my favorite, funny how the press only heeded his advice in regards to self censorship, in regards of his assassination. 

 Best part of that speech (after the Marx joke) is "As a wise man once said, a error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.." 

[Paul Brancato]

You bought much needed tears to my eyes Chris. Thank you.

in my musical world one tribute stands out - Leonard Bernstein asking for two minutes of silence from an audience gathered to celebrate a new edition of Grove’s Musical Dictionary on Nov. 22, 1980. Imagine that. 17 years had passed, and I’m certain that the audience was not thinking about JFK. But Lenny was. He never forgot or forgave. 

[Steven Kossor]

What a magnificent summation of Mr. Kennedy’s value to history and to our future in all the ways that it can be measured. It is a privilege to read your contributions, and those of so many other smart, sensitive and  informed members of this group. The truth will out because we’ll never stop seeking after it.  Thank you.

[James DiEugenio]

Even though they scheduled her last, Monica stole the CAPA conference this past weekend.

https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Last-President-World-Kennedy/dp/B0B92L1HT3

Edited November 23, 2022 by James DiEugenio

[Steven Kossor]

Monica's book is an instant classic, for sure, especially as an introduction to JFK for younger people.

[James DiEugenio]

I agree. 

But not just young people, I learned stuff from her that I did not know.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Matthew Koch said:

Thanks for sharing Chirs, 


That President and the Press speech is my favorite, funny how the press only heeded his advice in regards to self censorship, in regards of his assassination. 

 Best part of that speech (after the Marx joke) is "As a wise man once said, a error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.." 

 

Cheers.

I like that speech too, there is a whole paragraph or two that researchers generally ignore, because think it's all about the soviet union. It isn’t. 

The quote is applicable to a lot of things. 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Even though they scheduled her last, Monica stole the CAPA conference this past weekend.

https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Last-President-World-Kennedy/dp/B0B92L1HT3

Thanks. Just ordered a copy. I’ll be interested in her insights. I have made some notes for some years profiling JFK and his personality. Quite a lot of people misunderstand him and his personality. The clues are in who he was privately as opposed to what we see in the public spotlight. He was an introvert who appeared extraverted, a deep thinker, an avid reader. He had certain things that made him complex. 

[James DiEugenio]

In Stone's film, I really like it when RFK Jr. says that we should forget about the polls of presidents.

Go abroad, and especially the Third World, and see all the monuments, statues, libraries, hospitals, streets, schools etc that are named after John Kennedy.  By that metric, no other president even comes close.

He is correct of course. By that metric, JFK is like Secretariat at the Belmont.

Edited November 24, 2022 by James DiEugenio

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Steven Kossor said:

What a magnificent summation of Mr. Kennedy’s value to history and to our future in all the ways that it can be measured. It is a privilege to read your contributions, and those of so many other smart, sensitive and  informed members of this group. The truth will out because we’ll never stop seeking after it.  Thank you.

Thank you for the kind words, Steven. I probably should have taken the time to write a proper piece. I saw everyone else writing kind things on the anniversary and thought I’d add something. I could have said a lot more about this fascinating character. 
 

It’s interesting because in some ways JFK is gaining in popularity amongst younger people. There surely are few characters in history that have been written about more. 
 

Cheers. 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:

In Stone's film, I really like it when RFK Jr. says that we should forget about the polls of presidents.

Go abroad, and especially the Third World, and see all the monuments, statues, libraries, hospitals, streets, schools etc that are named after John Kennedy.  By that metric, no other president even comes close.

He is correct of course. By that metric, JFK is like Secretariat at the Belmont.

I forget the source of the Sinatra quote but, it went something like this: “for the briefest of moments, he was the greatest star.” Whether that is misappropriated or just fictional, I don’t know, but, its kind of true. The people of Britain who had just lost their empire or global position, to the USA, wept for the American leader. Extraordinary. 
 

I think his fame and global adoration was more than just him being the first president who worked the TV camera. He was people’s hopes and aspirations for something better. It sounds cheesy but, I think its true. I’ve seen those streets named after him, everywhere from South America to the far east. You could also measure his prominence by how often he is mentioned in films. Everyone alive remembers what they were doing when they heard the news. 

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

You bought much needed tears to my eyes Chris. Thank you.

in my musical world one tribute stands out - Leonard Bernstein asking for two minutes of silence from an audience gathered to celebrate a new edition of Grove’s Musical Dictionary on Nov. 22, 1980. Imagine that. 17 years had passed, and I’m certain that the audience was not thinking about JFK. But Lenny was. He never forgot or forgave. 

Thank you, Paul. 
 

This is mostly rhetorical but, have you thought about why the tears came? I have thought long and hard about why I have been brought to tears by watching some of JFK’s speeches, they are haunting. I suspect there are multiple reasons. 
 

Good on Leonard Bernstein. What a mark of respect. JFK moved so many. 
 

What is interesting is that my brother gravitates more toward Robert F. Kennedy. I think because he is younger, too, and could empathise with the impossible situation that Bobby was in. Bobby was on that trajectory for assassination from the moment he heard the news from Dallas. Even with his low confidence in public speaking, and his shy, sensitive nature, he could not betray his brother’s memory. He had to mourn, get himself together, and be the guy he was never cut out to be. He got the death threats, like Teddy, heinous stuff like they’d throw acid in the kids faces while at school, stuff which would psychologically paralyse most people. He went on, like a month to a flame, he had to try to get elected and find justice for his brother. Can you imagine having to communicate with LBJ after the JFKA? Having 10 children or something, he knew what the outcome could be. He took a shot at taking on a great foe like his brother, and paid in blood too. I might argue that living with this brother’s killers still at large was more excruciating than what happened to him at the Ambassador Hotel. I feel a deep sadness for him and also an admiration. He was so human, people saw the sadness in his eyes and felt his passion. Perhaps I feel this way because my brother and I are so close. 😞