If you haven’t been already, you’ll soon be buried in media reports regarding the anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination. I remember when the half-century retrospective reports had to do with WWII. Fifty years is one of those markers that everyone assumes merits a look back. We won’t have to direct our attention that way because the remembrance of the loss of the president will be found in every direction.
Half a century removed, we won’t be able to escape the rehashing of all the theories regarding the shooting in Dallas. I’d give you my own opinion, but I’ve already professed on this website the degree with which I assume the best – even in worst-case scenarios.
There are some factors involved – the presence of Dulles on the Warren Commission doing the official investigation, for example – but in the years since it seems hard to deny that the assassin, like the presidential killers before him, was under stress, suffering from emotional difficulties, and had a background that facilitated the possibility that such an event could transpire.
Like anything else, with enough wrangling it is possible to make a square peg fit into a round hole. The coordinates on any map can measure up to identify a lost treasure too – just ignore the signposts to make it work, then cuss when no one recognizes what you dig up as something valuable.
Of course, I’m no authority on the presidential assassination. I’m only expressing the opinion of someone who was camped in front of the television – pretty much from the moment we were dismissed from school until the body of John F. Kennedy was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. My dear mother told us to watch the news coverage. She said we’d later appreciate the fact that she made us pay attention.
My sisters and I pulled the cushions from the sofa and propped them up in a way that made the couch into a bus and our imaginations drove us up and down some imaginary streets. Even in our excursions we never escaped the eye of the television. That’s why we were there for the little salute, the caisson, the endless recapping, and the gunning down of Lee Oswald by Jack Ruby. Walter Cronkite in his element.
I lived it. Maybe that’s why I don’t really want to recount it.
It was controversial when Kennedy was elected, and I remember that too. There are just too many hard-wired recollections that seem to give me a jolt when they are brought back up. Not that I’d advocate just forgetting about the whole thing – I’m a history nut, for one thing. It’s just that I’m not certain what is gained by the rehash.
The thing is, I don’t even feel comfortable discussing my thoughts about the death of John Kennedy. I remember it vividly. I’ve seen so many discussions over the decades regarding this and that, who might have done this, who could have provoked that. It wears me out and makes me sad.
Those were different times, back then. Citizens respected the office of the president, even if they disagreed with his religion, upbringing, social standing, or age. Members of the opposing party were stricken by the death of their president, a sentiment that could never be aroused in this day and age, with limited exception.
I wonder if the theorists might be giving Lee Oswald too much credit when they propose he was a part of a bigger plan, an international conspiracy, a domestic plot, or a mob-based hit. The man had issues and unsure footing. He was unhinged and trained with weapons.
John Lennon died at the hands of a gunman as well. It is possible his murderer could have just have easily fixated on the president instead of a musical icon.
Perhaps in December of 2030, on the 50th anniversary of the notable death of that famous musician, the public will propose and the media will report the possible nefarious links that led to that tragic event.
You’ve got time. Write a book about it. We can feature it in the shop.
Come visit!
McHuston
Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main, Broken Arrow OK!
