In this generation of Social Media and true homogenization or making every trend truly uniform in nature and condensing the fat content of distance and disconnect it seems history has also gone away.
On a sunny November day in Dallas exactly 49 years ago John F. Kennedy was gunned down and seemingly so was the hope and innocence of ideals that America clung to so tightly. I am not declaring political allegiance of any sort so if you are a zealous republican or ardent democrat please take the politics somewhere else.
From 1961 to 1963 for nearly three years the JFK administration was a beacon for this country. Every major leader was fascinated by the youth, good taste, and lively nature of the Kennedy administration. It was not always easy for JFK as he faced obstacle after obstacle with the growing conflict in Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs invasion and mounting tensions with Russia. Kennedy was also a maverick of sorts as he challenged the CIA almost directly, made it clear he wanted an audit of the FED and on top of that would not play ball with controlling figures such as J. Edgar Hoover. Kennedy was the man that wanted progress and at the same time a democracy where secrets were not on tab for the people he served.
Kennedy was a throwback to the days when leaders would openly address the people they served. With his multiple imperfections and serious flaws Kennedy was someone that gave this country a breath of fresh air. Kennedy was not stiff like Richard Nixon or old like the venerated Eisenhower. There was something special about seeing the Kennedy children run to greet their father as he exited Marine One. The Kennedy administration made this country something vital. With youthful figures like Robert McNamara, Pierre Salinger, and Robert Kennedy there was something special.
The only older figure in that administration was LBJ and he represented the stability and the experience of over 26 years in Washington. The US was ready to put a man in the moon and everything seemed on track, the US had hope. A bullet on that sunny November day took that hope away and opened up a wound that this country has yet to heal from.
The US Presidency is more a form of business than a symbol of real power and change. Special interests plagues this country and basically secrets are what's behind every major decision that spurs any change negative or positive. There are no longer convertible Cadillacs or Lincolns and there is no longer that feel that our leader is someone we can approach. Truthfully November the 22nd 1963 was not the day Kennedy died but the day hope seemed to die.
It's fair to wonder how this country would be today if Kennedy had not been shot. Kennedy would have been re-elected in a fairly close election in 1964 and likely would have stopped sending troops to Vietnam and looked for a way to settle that conflict early. Kennedy would have marveled at the success of the Space Program and would have backed Martin Luther King with great fervor en route to great success in achieving equal rights for all Americans. There would have been turmoil but maybe less depletion of resources as a result of an easier out from Vietnam. Now in retrospect this is all a speculative matter but still that glimmer of hope that has faded is a great reflection of a wonderful time that was far too short.
And so for I hope I close with:
It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear.
The climate must be perfect all the year.
A law was made a distant moon ago here:
July and August cannot be too hot.
And there's a legal limit to the snow here
In Camelot.
The winter is forbidden till December
And exits March the second on the dot.
By order, summer lingers through September
In Camelot.
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it sounds a bit bizarre,
But in Camelot, Camelot
That's how conditions are.
The rain may never fall till after sundown.
By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it gives a person pause,
But in Camelot, Camelot
Those are the legal laws.
The snow may never slush upon the hillside.
By nine p.m. the moonlight must appear.
In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.
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