50 years ago, this month, the modern "shot heard round the world" was fired in Dallas, Texas. The tragedy of the President's murder had then and still today, has grave consequences for our Republic.
Political unhappiness can not be resolved by violence. It has never worked. It never will. But, the picture above, of the slain President's flag draped casket laying in State at the White House is almost the emblem of the decade of the 1960's.
I was only 7 on that day in 1963. I remember very clearly where I was when I heard the news. I really didn't understand the consequences of what my mother told me. I remember the grown-ups talking in low tones and the children being told to go play quietly. I remember watching the President's funeral on television. By then, we had a color set but, the live coverage during the day was in black and white. I was really confused. As I read history today, it seems that that 7 yer old wasn't the only American confused during that week of November 22, 1963.
Through a twist of fate, the President's murder touched our family personally, in a strange way. My Father was a Psychiatrist who occasionally did work for the government; examining criminal defendants etc. It seems that the FBI had asked him to fly to Dallas to perform an examination of the accused Presidential Assassin. I vividly remember my father coming into the house on November 24 and saying: "Well, I'm not going to Texas." My mother asked why and my father very matter-of-factly stated that "they" killed him.
With that, the assassination of President Kennedy became just another news story to a child. Until June 6, 1968. Of course, that date lives in infamy as the date of Robert Kennedy's murder. Another "Kennedy boy" had been killed. To date, like the death of his older brother, the reasons remain unclear or at least, illogical.
The very public and violent murders of the Kennedy brothers and Rev. Martin Luther King bring into sharp focus the realization that political violence is not only dangerous, it tears at the fabric of our society and fails. It fails because it does not bring about the change the assassin seeks.
Freedom and Liberty are concepts that have become just words to many. So many people take the freedoms we enjoy in this country for granted. Because their life is difficult, they expect something for nothing. No work. No effort. Just give it to me because I'm American.
The old line that "They" or "The Man" is holding me down is just as much a falsehood today as it was in the 1960s. Many people of modest means have risen to places of responsibility and prominence in our history. We need not look far to see examples of the "American dream." A look at history will tell you that violence was not how those successful Americans achieved.
One of the people I admire is General Colin Powell. The child of immigrants, he led a somewhat troubled childhood of the streets of New York but, his family never lost it's focus on him and he eventually attended City College of New York. He says in his biography that he attended CCNY because he could afford the tuition of the public college.
His family wanted him to become an architect. He saw the Army ROTC cadets and became interested. He joined the ROTC and flourished. Of course, we all know what happened then.
A minority son of immigrants grew up to be an advisor to Presidents, led the Nation's Armed Forces in a War and became Secretary of State. Not bad for a poor kid from Queens, NY.
Oh, by the way; he succeeded without the use of violence. He used his brain. He did not let the disadvantages of his circumstances hold him back. He never expected any "hand out." He let his hard work propel him to reach greatness.
The violence of the 1960s shows us through the looking glass of time that we can bring about personal change and even social change without violence but, we must be willing to do the work that change requires.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Good works are their own reward. We have to always remember that there are no short cuts to anything worth doing. Wether it is personal accomplishment or social change or Government reform. It takes work. There are no easy answers to complex problems. The "easy fix" that the assassin seeks does not exist.
We can not know if President John Kennedy would have been a great President. He did not get the chance to finish his work. We can not know if Robert Kennedy would have been a great President. He too, did not get the chance to finish his work. But those deaths should never be forgotten. We must ensure that we do not let our society deteriorate to the point that political assassination seems the only choice.
As Always...
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