What's the perspective on JFK 40th of under 40 DUers?

[Faygo Kid]

You're too young to remember, of course, unlike so many of us who have posted on this recently. What's your thoughts on all this - the images, how it may have affected our country, reactions to the outpouring of memories. My daughter's earliest memory of "where were you when" was the Challenger explosion. What's your reaction to all this, and on JFK, on the 40th anniversary? Not interested in conspiracy theories on the killing itself, but its impact on you, and your perspectives on what might have been different.

[theorist]

1. The Death of a President

I cannot imagine what it must have been like on that day. My parents were only five years old themselves, so their perspective is limited, but from what I have read about Jack Kennedy, I can tell that he was a popular and loved man--more than just a president. I'm not sure if this high place was made for him after his death or not, but he appeared to have a real vision.

I am left to ponder whether we will ever have a president who's death would affect us in a similar way as it affected your generation. I don't feel comfortable speculating on what might have been. I'm not sure about how peaceful the world would be; he did have the Bay of Pigs under his belt, but he also had the missile crisis. He was a complicated man, unlike our current leadership.

[PAMod]

2. I've been thinking about it a lot...

Right now, I'm wondering what it must have been like to KNOW that America's greatest days are ahead of us. I'm wondering what it must have been like to have a President telling us that though the future is going to be hard, we as a nation are capable of meeting those challenges - and furthermore the entire world was looking to us, counting on us to lead the way.

I feel energy just typing the words.

Then; then I remember that today we have a President that gave us the "Patriot Act" - a president that has alienated the entire world - a president that deliberately mislead us into a war.

[slappypan]

3. I watched the Frontline documentary last night.

I was born after 1963, and while I knew the basic outline of what had happened, I was not familiar with many of the details until I watched this film. What struck me was the similarities to the events of 9/11. Here was this guy, well known to both the FBI and CIA, practically running around the country wearing a sandwich board saying “I want to assassinate someone” and they just didn't bother to keep track of him closely enough to avert a tragedy. It was clear the the former CIA director interviewed was a liar. The CIA seems to have covered up their involvement with Oswald out of sheer embarrassment. I had never thought much about what kind of person Oswald was, but watching the documentary, it became obvious what a miserable, manipulative, hate-filled little shit of a man he was. He lied to everyone. Oliver Stone came across particularly badly for promoting absurd fantasies when the plain and obvious facts are damning enough. The most revealing moment for me was when the old retired KGB agent was recalling their interrogations of Oswald. The KGB was trying to determine whether he was an American spy, but concluded that it was impossible; the use of a flake like Oswald “would reflect very bady on the American intelligence community.” Indeed it does.

[Westegg]

6. "Frontline" doc via SLAPPYPAN

Yeah, Slappy, you make great points. I think it probably was like you say: The CIA (for neither the first nor the last time) just dropped the ball and screwed up with the JFK hit. Others have made some good (conspiratorial) points about the Mafia and French hitmen and whatever. Who knows? They may be right. But I've felt for more than a decade now that the CIA and FBI are essentially a bunch of yahoos whose main actions seem to be about saving their asses and protecting their reputations. In other words, bureacracy in action.

[La_Serpiente]

4. Well

I am 19 and all the things I have heard about him were all good. My mother is a Catholic from Troy, New York and she remembers that when Kennedy won the presidency, her entire family went ballistic. She was 10 years old at the time. I guess religious discrimination when it comes to Christianity is not as commonplace as it was before, but she remembers that it was a miracle to get a Catholic into the White House.

I assume that is must have been a very difficult time for America. Although Kennedy somewhat fumbled the Bay of Pigs incident, he did manage to make some very tough decisions when it came to Cuba. I don't know what I would do if I was president then. Although he may not have been as vociferous for Civil Rights as some of the activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and others, he did try to make some progress in that area.

And his ambitious dream to put a man on the moon seems so admirable. When I read about a spaceship going into space now, it is not that "thrilling" I must say. Just shows how much things we take for granted.

I also see a little bit of Kennedy in every one of us today. Kennedy always wanted to do something good in the world. I hear Senators like Miller talk in public that Democrats have lost the dream of Kennedy. Could he say the same thing to Edward Kennedy? Does Miller exemplify the dream of Kennedy when he supports a party that steals from the poor, ruins the environment, and shovels money in the way of big business?

Maybe he interprets and remembers Kennedy in his own special way. But to me, I view Kennedy as someone who always tried to stand up for justice in the end.

[Faygo Kid]

8. Thanks. Great post. Good for 19, or any age.

Very erudite and thoughtful.

[metisnation]

5. Texas

the fact that it happened in Texas points to big oil oligarchys.

[wuushew]

11. Who the hell would go to hate filled Dalllas in the first place?

This only a month after Adlai Stevenson was beat up. I mean what kind of people physically assault the U.N. Ambassador?

[smallprint]

7. "not interested in conspiracy theories"

That pretty much says it all IMO. The main effect of JFK's assassination on the American people was to divide them into two groups: those who believe the lies and those who don't.

Obviously this division still exists.

[ellie]

9. In a word: discouraged

Reflecting on the murders of JFK, RFK, and MLK makes me very sad and at the same time very pissed off. It seems that anyone with different and exciting ideas has their lives snuffed out before they can act on them. Look at Wellstone!

I know you don't want to hear about conspiracy theories, but there is a tremendous amount of energy and machinations needed to maintain the staus quo. I believe there is a cadre of people whose whole lives are dedicated to doing just that.

[ShaneGR]

10. I suppose my reaction has always been disappointment

I can imagine how people who were alive during that time may have a deeper knowledge of the moment within themselves, but every time they show a picture of Kennedy I shake my head, thinking about what could have been.