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Decades later, JFK’s legacy remains complex and controversial
www.chicagotribune.com
20 Nov 2024 ~~ By Arthur I. Cyr
(Excerpt)
Fascination with, and controversy about President Kennedy continues. In 2013, floods of books, articles and commentaries mark the half-century since his death.
Kennedy’s legacy is complex, including publicized shortcomings. Eric Sevareid of CBS noted that the main legacy might be “an attitude,” a spirit that all things are possible for Americans.
In fact, JFK had major achievements. They included arms control, the Peace Corps and space exploration.
Nonetheless, Sevareid was perceptive in emphasizing the emotional dimensions of political leadership.
The early disastrous invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs undercut Kennedy, and provided Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev strong incentive to deploy nuclear missiles on the island. Intense, vastly expanded U.S. efforts to kill Fidel Castro further spurred Moscow.
~Snip~
Two prominent domestic issues were civil rights and organized crime, the latter an obsession of driven Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. JFK was cautious about race relations, addressing the subject actively only when pressed by the massive march on Washington.
RFK was relentless in pursuit of the mafia, while simultaneously gangsters and mercenaries were recruited to kill Castro. Dallas ended both efforts. Regarding organized crime, six years passed before the Nixon administration re-energized prosecution.
People around Robert Kennedy were puzzled by his marked disinterest in a possible assassination conspiracy. In
hindsight, RFK no doubt avoided that dark tangled path because he might come face to face with himself.
~Snip~
Sevareid’s observation applies tangibly to the American space program. The commitment to a manned moon landing resulted in dramatic success. Associated technological innovations include electronic miniaturization. Today’s computers, cell phones and a range of other instruments reflect this.
In the mid-1970s, revelations about JFK’s personal life along with the anti-Castro plots startled people. Understanding human complexity involves growing up, more achievable in a democracy.
JFK’s commitment to public service and public progress remain vital goals, though overshadowed in today’s atmosphere.
Commentary:
On the eve of the assassination of JFK sixty-four years ago, it's good to reflect not just that day, but remember some of the achievements made by him in the short span of his presidential days.
JFK's dalliance's aside.
As the author Arthur Cyr described amongst JFK's achievements, a treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere,
creation of the Green Berets, his in roads to end segregation, negotiating key authorization to the 1967 Round Trade Agreement, the successor Tokyo and Uruguay Accords, including the Immigration Act finally passed in 1965 and JFK's efforts in Civil Rights issues.
The question still remains as to whether Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunner, or was there an assassination plot by the "Deep State" to rid themselves of the burr under their saddle.
Will the truth ever be told?
At least not in my life time, perhaps in the lives of my great grandchildren.
Column: Decades later, JFK’s legacy remains complex and controversial
Sen. John Kennedy’s book “Profiles in Courage,” about U.S. senators who put principle above political expediency, earned him the Pulitzer Prize. While critics cracked President Kennedy should show …
www.chicagotribune.com
(Excerpt)
Fascination with, and controversy about President Kennedy continues. In 2013, floods of books, articles and commentaries mark the half-century since his death.
Kennedy’s legacy is complex, including publicized shortcomings. Eric Sevareid of CBS noted that the main legacy might be “an attitude,” a spirit that all things are possible for Americans.
In fact, JFK had major achievements. They included arms control, the Peace Corps and space exploration.
Nonetheless, Sevareid was perceptive in emphasizing the emotional dimensions of political leadership.
The early disastrous invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs undercut Kennedy, and provided Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev strong incentive to deploy nuclear missiles on the island. Intense, vastly expanded U.S. efforts to kill Fidel Castro further spurred Moscow.
~Snip~
Two prominent domestic issues were civil rights and organized crime, the latter an obsession of driven Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. JFK was cautious about race relations, addressing the subject actively only when pressed by the massive march on Washington.
RFK was relentless in pursuit of the mafia, while simultaneously gangsters and mercenaries were recruited to kill Castro. Dallas ended both efforts. Regarding organized crime, six years passed before the Nixon administration re-energized prosecution.
People around Robert Kennedy were puzzled by his marked disinterest in a possible assassination conspiracy. In
hindsight, RFK no doubt avoided that dark tangled path because he might come face to face with himself.
~Snip~
Sevareid’s observation applies tangibly to the American space program. The commitment to a manned moon landing resulted in dramatic success. Associated technological innovations include electronic miniaturization. Today’s computers, cell phones and a range of other instruments reflect this.
In the mid-1970s, revelations about JFK’s personal life along with the anti-Castro plots startled people. Understanding human complexity involves growing up, more achievable in a democracy.
JFK’s commitment to public service and public progress remain vital goals, though overshadowed in today’s atmosphere.
Commentary:
On the eve of the assassination of JFK sixty-four years ago, it's good to reflect not just that day, but remember some of the achievements made by him in the short span of his presidential days.
JFK's dalliance's aside.
As the author Arthur Cyr described amongst JFK's achievements, a treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere,
creation of the Green Berets, his in roads to end segregation, negotiating key authorization to the 1967 Round Trade Agreement, the successor Tokyo and Uruguay Accords, including the Immigration Act finally passed in 1965 and JFK's efforts in Civil Rights issues.
The question still remains as to whether Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunner, or was there an assassination plot by the "Deep State" to rid themselves of the burr under their saddle.
Will the truth ever be told?
At least not in my life time, perhaps in the lives of my great grandchildren.
