The JFK assassination marks the turning point to a culture of victimhood and sainthood ... and welfare... for victims.
Gone are the days where the hero is worshipped. Gone are the days when one is praised and rewarded for making something, for doing something, for accomplishing something.
Welcome the days we count how many micro-aggressions we have suffered. For the more we are the victim, the more we get in prestige and recognition and money.
I had just posted Henry Livingston’s 1823 Carrier Address at comment 58 when I reread your comment. The gulf between his joy in the present peace and prosperity after the war in which he fought and your summary of where we are today - when hero is a word that has been diminished - is heartbreaking. I never thought of that gulf when I read his optimistic view of what America would become. Now I fear I will.