The 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK is coming up soon, and the retrospectives are well underway. Today, I was reading a long piece of recollections of people who turned out to see the president in Texas that fateful day.
What really struck me was the reverence that people showed toward the office of president in that time, and in their memories of it still. Somehow I feel that the nation has lost a lot in the intervening time amid rampant political cynicism. Nowadays, if the president were killed, a large number of Americans, I am sure, would actually be openly gloating about it, or at least dismissive.
I'm not sure when this loss of respect for the office came about, but by the end of the Nixon years, the destruction was all but complete. The TV comics and talk radio just put on the finishing touches.
I was only in second grade when JFK was killed, so I don't have many or very vivid memories of it. I guess the one that impressed me the most was seeing young JFK Jr. saluting his father's coffin. It's an indelible image that sticks in the national consciousness.
A number of guys on here are older than me and thus, I'm sure, have clearer memories of Nov. 22, 1963. Anyone care to share?
1. A flash announcement on TV (while I was watching Hugh Downs and Concentration)
2. Lady across the street came over because her phone didn't work; neither did ours. She didn't know about JFK yet.
3. Mom came home and was crying.
4. I was watching TV and saw live when Ruby shot Oswald.
5. Watching the funeral procession in D.C. at the neighbor friend's house... and seeing tears in the eyes of my friend's father.
You hit the nail on the head when you said the reverence people paid toward the office of the President. Today I still have respect for our President! It does not matter if they are Democrat or Republican, they are the President. Their job is not easy, they have to make tough decisions and are on call 24 hours a day. Ever notice a President goes into office with dark hair and comes out gray? Everyone thinks the President has the power to make all the decisions. They do not.
I've seen many photos and broadcasts from the time, as well as read first-person accounts. Sure, there were the anti-Catholic hard cores. Those are the same folks who today think Obama is a Muslim.
But average people were genuinely excited and even thrilled to see the president and Jackie. Thousands of people lined the streets along his motorcade routes in Dallas and Fort Worth and attended his public appearances. Now, I'm sure time has made memories fonder, but still, average people seemed like they really cared about seeing the president.
Things are very different now. Sure, part of that is because of stricter security (it's VERY difficult for an average Joe to get to see a president nowadays). But still, I don't think average Americans care very much anymore. Obama is an exception because of the historic nature of his presidency. He's still capable of drawing enormous crowds. But could you imagine thousands of people lining the streets to see the Bushes, for example? I doubt it, even in Texas.
And not all Texans hated Kennedy. The state did vote for him in 1960, though LBJ played a major role in that.
However I think your memory has mellowed the times. JFK was warned not to go to Dallas. The South and especially Texas hated him for siding the civil rights leaders on integration and calling in the National Guard to enforce court orders. Kennedy was also a Catholic and there were a lot of people who were sure he was taking orders from the pope on how to run the country. In the South Catholics and Jews were just a step above African Americans in the eyes of many Southerners. On the day of his assassination the Dallas Morning News wrote a hateful editorial denouncing him. Today they claim to be saddened in Dallas that he was killed here. Not because he was killed but because he was killed here.
The anniversary observation is a very touchy subject. Dealy Plaza where the dastardly deed took place has been reserved by the city for 3 weeks. They don't want an "unofficial" remembrances of the event. Admission to it is being restricted to 5000 people and to get tickets you had to submit your name, birthday, driver's license and social security number.