In the life of this great nation, a few of its presidents
have emerged from the pack as truly historic and memorable even more than
others. Of course, the presidents from
the generation of the founding fathers certainly fit that bill including George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson. And
presidents that served the country in times of great crisis also are deeply
honored in memory. But in recent
memory, there probably no other president that brings up emotions of respect
and admiration as much as that of John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy seemed to capture the hearts of the American people
in a way that was unique in presidents before or since. Part of it may have been the era in history
that the country was in when he became the President of the United States. The historic time between 1950 and 1970 was
a time when the largest generation of youth, now known as the “baby boomers”,
was coming of age. With them a new
youth movement brought a sense of optimism, a “can do” attitude and to some
extent a sense of revolution. They were
looking for new ways of seeing things, a new vision of the future and new
leadership and John F. Kennedy was the perfect man of the hour to provide that
leadership.
So much about Kennedy’s presidency has an aura of romance
and almost a fairy tale excitement of it.
From the naming of his family estates “Camelot” to the love affair that
the public had with the strikingly beautiful presidential couple, Jack and Jacqueline Kennedy. That touch of magic extended to everything he did and virtually
everybody in his family including his younger brother Robert who was idolized
as well and almost certainly would have served as president had he not been
tragically assassinated during his early bid for that office.
But this was not to
say that Kennedy was not a phenomenal leader.
He faced serious challenges. The
Cuban Missile Crisis may have been one of the most frightening show downs
between a nuclear Russia and a nuclear America that has ever happened in
history. When it became clear that
Russia was beginning to build bases in Cuba and arm them with those terrible weapons,
this was no time for a weak president. Had
Russia been able to bully Kennedy or intimidate the young president and put
those missiles in Cuba, it seems certain that the outcome of the cold war would
have been one of failure rather than success.
But Kennedy was not bullied or intimidated and using the power of his
office, Kennedy stood his ground and stood ground for all Americans and forced
the Russians to remove those missiles.
But this was not the
only great accomplishment of Kennedy’s administration. It took a leader who had great vision and ability
to inspire a nation as nobody else than John F. Kennedy could to set the sights
of the nation on landing on the moon.
But Kennedy put that desire and that high calling in the hearts of his
people and the nation rallied to finally see that man step out on the moon and
declare, “This is one step for man, a
giant leap for mankind.” That was
one of the proudest days in American history and it was Kennedy who inspired us
to that kind of greatness.
As much as the life
and leadership of John F. Kennedy perfectly exemplified the optimism and
youthful zeal of a generation, his tragic assignation changed the country forever
as well. On that sad day of November
22, 1963 when Lee Harvey Oswald gunned down America’s beloved president, the
hearts of Americans changed forever.
This was one of
those days that almost everybody who was alive at the time, from school
children to grandfathers remembered where they were when they heard the
news. Since we laid to rest this great
leader, the presidency itself has never been the same. While Americans will always respect their
presidents, that sense of adoration for the man in the White House disappeared
forever. But the thing that did not
disappear was the ongoing adoration of the man, John F. Kennedy, who inspired a
generation and a nation to look forward to greatness and in the famous words of
his inaugural address in 1961…
"Ask
not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country."
tripleclicks.com
Audiobook in MP3 file format.
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address January 20, 1961
John Kennedy woke up fifty-six years ago on Friday, January 20, 1961–after a long night of parties celebrating the imminent beginning of his presidency had crept well into the morning hours. He practiced his upcoming inaugural address as he bathed. An hour...
John F. Kennedy
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