I am only 23. and I have heard older folks made the same point. After 46 years.
Doesn’t it seem like the USA has declines in so many ways since JFK was killed ?
That was an opening for the far left to take over the Democrat party and they did. That was an opening for LBJ to escalate the Vietnam war and he did. That was an opening for a lot of unintended events that happened in the years that would follow.
I think America was at her peak in 1963.
now we are looking more and more like just another weak member of the European Union every day. That is where we are headed at best.
>>>I think America was at her peak in 1963
I think a better argument can be made that the turning point was 1960, when an alliance of big city bosses and the Cosa Nostra stole a presidential election putting in place a weak and inexperienced man as president.
When glamor in a politician became more important then competency or integrity. When the Monroe Doctrine still held sway and had not yet been abandoned as the price of de-escalating a nuclear crisis initiated by Soviet leaders relying on the failure of American presidential leadership. And when family dynasties were not the defining characteristic of US presidential politics.
. I think there is some validity to your statement. America was still a can-do country in 1963. We were still fighting Communism abroad and racism at home, but a society populated by war proven WW2 vets was building the most modern nation non earth. Roads, colleges, schools, consumer goods, inventions, improvements in the standard of living were happening regularly and expected to continue.
By the end of 1963, America was still the major hope of the world and the major influencer of culture for a world eager to recover from the destruction of WW2.
The golden age of rock and roll and pop music, 1956-1963, seemed like it would continue unabated.
The assassination of JFK was like the innocence and unbridled optimism of America was assassinated as well. You knew that nothing could or would ever be the same after such a horrible deed, one that was played out on our TV screens. You knew also that something had been taken away forever, a bright future track that would never be the road America would travel again.
Two and a half months later, the Beatles would land in NY, taking a depressed America by storm and changing the flavor of music forever. Also in 1964, the race riots began in the summer, forcing America to confront racism.That same summer, the Gulf of Tonkin incident involved us in a war that would shake the very foundations of our civil society, and start a decline that would not even abate until Ronald Reagan insprired us to greatness in the campaign of 1980.
In 1965, there were more race riots in the inner cities, and the images of battles in a far away jungle land called Vietnam, and mounting casualties would shock a nation. The British invasion of culture, art, and music intensified.
By 1966, folk music, long hair, hippies and the beginnings of flower powerstarteed to take hold. These were foreign tokens of culture, not even imaginable three years before. The stress cracks in society were beginning to form.
By 1967, the war in Vietnam was going full tilt, with success being assured by mounting body counts of the Viet Cong. Facial hair on men, sideburns,tie-dyed clothes, psychodelic pop art, Eastern influences on music, more race riots in the summer, the emergence of war protest, hawks and doves on Vietnam seemed to continually drive stakes into the heart of mainstream AMericanism and culture. Change was coming.
In 1968, multiple assasinations of political figures, the Tet offensive in Vietnam, the My Lai massacre,war protests, hawks and doves beating each other in the streets, sit-ins, protests against all authority, especially on college campuses was unchecked all over the country. It felt like America was coming apart at the seams. Like Humpty Dumpty, it was about to fall and explode, never to be put back together again.
From 1969-1972, the same old, same old happened again, with America seeming to fracture more and more.The popular music reflected the national mood, nothing like the upbeat innocent songs of a five or six years before.
Then in 1973, there was an end to America's war in Vietnam.There was hope that Vietnam could be put behind us, a war widely viewed as the first we had ever lost. But then the Watergate break-in had been exposed, and this cancer ate away at us daily until Nixon finally resigned the next year in disgrace.
As 1973 turned into 1974 we then had our first oil crisis, gas lines, doubt that there would ever again be enough energy for America, this uncertainty, a first in American history, lasted until June when oil and gasoline supplies returned to normal. Even with gas 50% higher than before the shortage, America was just happy to return to normal.Then in August, 1974, Nixon resigned the Presidency in disgrace, leaving behind a split country. It seemed to me a day as dark as the day JFK died,as this was another American first.
I could go on, but the 1970s continued a slide in American prestige, national will, and identity, helped along by another oil crisis and a national economic meltdown in 1979-1980, the Iranian hostage crisis during the same time period,leisure suits, and one bright spot--the rise of disco around 1977. The 70s also introduced us to "issue" and "relevant" TV sitcoms, wherein we were bombarded and indoctrinated on the proper way to think by the likes of Norman Lear and his cohorts in Hollywood.
Only a B-movie actor who came along in 1980 made us believe in America again. He fought Communism relentlessly, overcoming it, and making it possible by 1991 for the breakup of the Soviet Union and freedom for over 500 million peoploe behind the Iron Curtain.
It is hard to believe that 20 years after Reagan left the White House, it is inhabited by Marxist Muslim who hates everything this country has championed and accomplished for over 200 years.
But yes, I would agree with your statement. The 1963 America of my boyhood I saw again only during the ascent of Reagan and briefly again after 9/11/01, when this country was united, before the Democrats started again to tear the country apart for their political purposes. 1963 was a golden year. I am grateful for the America of my boyhood, when dreams could be dreamed and optimism knew no bounds.
I only wish it again for others, knowing full well that the present leadership in Washington is committed to the demise of what this country was destined to be.
Take a look at the music and TV sitcoms of 1963--that will give you a glimpse of the America I remember, faults and all.
And remember the one thing that has remained constant all that time--Democrats are the enemy of freedom.