I remember where I was when JFK was assassinated. As a senior at West Aurora High school in Aurora, IL, it was right about lunch time when rumors started to swirl through the school that something had happened. Finally, it got to the point where classes were dominated by talk of the shooting and the school principal made an announcement over the PA about the shooting. By the time I got home from school the news that he was dead was everywhere.
The JFK assassination was not ‘life changing’ for me. More like a loss of innocence. In any event, I will never forget where I was and what I was doing when I first heard the news.
This is the opening sequence from the 1991 Oliver Stone film ‘JFK’. I thought it was interesting as it includes excerpts from President Eisenhower’s 1961 ‘military-industrial complex’ speech. In addition, there are a couple of excerpts from JFK speeches that show the two presidents were not that far apart ideologically.
It’s pretty obvious today that Eisenhower was absolutely correct. Too bad we failed to heed his warning. And JFK’s dream for a peaceful world, and not a ‘Pax Americana’, seem farther away than ever. You have to wonder if there would be a place in today’s GOP for Eisenhower. I don’t think so.
