Naive days of JFK era long gone

[gateley]

The photos have almost that same historic quality as the Matthew Brady photos from the Civil War. It seems that long ago.

Vanity Fair this month has a 50th retrospective of the John F. Kennedy inauguration, with traditionally gorgeous photographs, especially of Jackie. I forgot how striking she was. I forgot how glamorous that time was. If you were 20 and hailed from West Roxbury, Mass., JFK wasn’t a president. He was one of us, for heaven’s sake. He was a god.

The Vanity Fair story, by Todd S. Purdum, contains interviews with scores of people who were there. Were we ever that young and innocent?

Kennedy walked the snow-covered streets of Georgetown before and after the inauguration. He flew to Washington on a scheduled airline. He flew to New York City on another commercial flight to canoodle with an ambassador’s wife just before the event, if you can believe Purdum.

It seems impossible now, but John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway and Robert Frost attended. The youngest president ever was replacing the oldest president ever, Dwight Eisenhower. /snip

Of course, there was no next inauguration. Presidents now do not fly scheduled airlines, nor walk Washington streets by themselves. They certainly don’t ride in motorcades in open limousines. We have changed as a nation.

Fifty years. We are no longer young or naive. Now, a congresswoman gets shot in the head at a shopping center. What, exactly, have we become?

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Living/Naive-days-of-JFK-era-long-gone,163970?ref=mostReadBox

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Interesting article, and for me, who was alive and kicking, brought back memories of a different time, as the author says. I can only imagine the blowback today if the Obama's hosted galas like the Kennedys. It was a brief, enchanting moment. :(

[Brickbat]

1. I was just pleased to see all the union bugs on the tickets.

[defendandprotect]

2. It was also the point where right wing violence came out of the closet ....

not only to take our president but to take our "people's" government --

Always had been right wing violence before that -- including the planned coup on FDR

which General Smedley Butler blew the whistle on -- kind of an open secret even then --

but nothing like what they did with JFK.

From what I can see, many of those supporting the coup -- from George W. Bush to Richard

Nixon were present in Dallas. Would have appealed to Howard Hunt's style as an author

bowing to Agatha Christie. But also imagine the right wing "authority" had to be shown.

We've now had 50+ years of right wing violence because violence is really the primary

tool of the right wing -- they can't rise with out. That's why the T-BAGGERS/KOCH BROS./

OIL INDUSTRY fakery concerns me so much -- they are stepping up the right wing violence --

casual violence -- everyday political violence!


Right wing, of course, rises on stolen elections/computer voting -- and lies.

When we ask why so little reaction by the public to the threats we are facing from

right wing/corporates/elites -- we have to remember that those forces have been working

for decades to completely confuse the public as to what's going on.

As with Global Warming, they have largely succeeded in ensuring the public knows more

about sports and athletes, celebrities and other trivia, than the real threat to nature

and humanity.

[gateley]

3. Oops, tried to rec your post! nt

[Matilda]

4. Perhaps the most evil man of modern times wasn't Hitler or Stalin, but Allen Dulles.

He set up the CIA as a covert second arm of government, following its own agenda regardless of the wishes of the president. You knew what you were dealing with when faced with a Hitler or a Stalin, but nobody knew then what Dulles was doing. A man totally without scruples or morals, operating covertly for his own ends.

And you have to give him points for succeeding, brilliantly, at what he did - the cover up of the assassination was carried out by every arm of government and the law - from the new president through senators, judges, lawyers, police officers, the FBI, and the Secret Service to the joint chiefs of staff. And all the strings were pulled by the CIA.

When I read posts about Obama breaking promises, I concede the point, but if he's studied history, he must know what would await him if he doesn't appease the corporations and the military. I believe they'd do it all again; they got away with it the first time. No president since Kennedy has even tried to stand against them.

[gateley]

9. Last night I heard the author of Family of Secrets on the radio, and although I just

caught a snip at the end of what he was saying, I think it's in line with what you're saying.

Here's a link to his site, although I don't know if he's got audio of last night's show.

http://russbaker.com/

And you summed it up perfectly -- No president since Kennedy has even tried to stand against them. :scared:

[Matilda]

10. I wasn't able to pick up the audio,

but I read some of what he has to say, and I've bookmarked the site.

The only way things could change would be if a majority of people became truly aware of just what has been happening
since Kennedy's time, but there are too many who don't want to know.

[gateley]

11. Plus so much of it is hidden, behind the scenes, the enormity of it would tend

to make people think it's too far out to believe. Crazy, huh?

[defendandprotect]

12. Highly agree -- great comment --

Perhaps the most evil man of modern times wasn't Hitler or Stalin, but Allen Dulles.

Couldn't agree with you more --

He set up the CIA as a covert second arm of government, following its own agenda regardless of the wishes of the president. You knew what you were dealing with when faced with a Hitler or a Stalin, but nobody knew then what Dulles was doing. A man totally without scruples or morals, operating covertly for his own ends.

And you have to give him points for succeeding, brilliantly, at what he did - the cover up of the assassination was carried out by every arm of government and the law - from the new president through senators, judges, lawyers, police officers, the FBI, and the Secret Service to the joint chiefs of staff. And all the strings were pulled by the CIA.

When I read posts about Obama breaking promises, I concede the point, but if he's studied history, he must know what would await him if he doesn't appease the corporations and the military. I believe they'd do it all again; they got away with it the first time. No president since Kennedy has even tried to stand against them.

Fletcher Prouty relates that the CIA/Pentagon were betraying Ike's agenda for peace --

and obviously the U-2 -- which Ike had "grounded" for months before the Paris Peace

talks is evidence of that. Imagine how much more we don't know.

They proceeded to betray JFK --

[pacalo]

5. "Maybe he'll wake up & get out of his coffin & everything will go back the way it was."

That's what my innocent 10-year-old mind was thinking. Then, two more vicious assassinations against democratically-principled statesmen, all in the same decade.

Today, a federal congresswoman gets shot in the head, & while she's still in serious condition, the twisted upside-down mindset that gives this nation a black eye continues to rattle on: I need my guns! We're not the only ones! (Yes, you really are.)

And an OP today about Ms. Gifford's recovery progress was unrecommended by several (right-wing trolls -- I hope.)

Hoping for a miracle for a more impressive country to be proud of.

[defendandprotect]

13. +1000% --

[jwirr]

6. From the joy of Camelot to the assassination of RFK, the day that

hope died.

[defendandprotect]

14. What so much amazed me was how no one ....

pointed to the right wing until the private investigations got going --

and how no one wanted to connect any of those dots from one assassination

to the other! And, how few questioned what would follow -- fascism!

[Kat45]

7. Nice article.

And things have certainly changed dramatically since then.

[EFerrari]

8. Our predecessors were naive for not having the wisdom

to be concerned with our problems.

lol

[eleny]

15. Yes were that young and innocent and then we got our collective cherry popped

[avaistheone1]

16. Obama does host a lot of galas

probably more than the Kennedys.

I think Obama should have some blowback in doing so - giving one in six people in this country is on food stamps, we have record hunger, joblessness, homelessness and bankruptcies. This is really no time for galas. Obama is really out of tune on this one. mo