My understanding of government and politics is statistics and reason-driven, not overly emotional, and yet when it comes to the Presidency of President John F. Kennedy, all data and reason is thrown aside for emotion. For me, John F. Kennedy represents all that is good in this country, and I say that knowing all about his failings at this point. It's not so much what he did, it's what he stood for, and what people came to believe about him. While I idolize his brother Bobby, I recognize that it is JFK who gave people hope for the future, for a fleeting moment in our history. He was a new generational leader, a young President who had served in World War II, but represented the hopes and aspirations of a peaceful people. He represented the blue-collar Boston voters in the House and Senate, and came to represent their brothers and sisters across the nation.
Yesterday was the 52nd anniversary of Kennedy's assassination in Dallas. I don't like to compare that with MLK or RFK's assassination in it's impact, other than to say that JFK's murder was probably more shocking to people who lived through it at the time. All the hope that had followed Kennedy into office would soon die with him, as Vietnam, the assassination of MLK and his brother, Nixon and Watergate would all soon follow. A lot of people ask what if? I still want to ask why not? It's my hope that we can still be the country that Kennedy made people aspire to.
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