Where's the Aura? (Without Question, The Best JFK Editorial That I Have Read This Week)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Friday, November 21, 2003 | CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

[presidio9]

A short while ago, I chanced to be in Dallas, Texas, making a documentary film. One of the shots involved a camera angle from a big commercial tower overlooking Dealey Plaza and the former "book depository," and it was later necessary for us to take the road through the celebrated underpass. The crew I worked with was younger than I am (you may as well make that much younger) and consisted of a Chinese-Australian, an English girl brought up in Africa, a Jewish guy from Brooklyn and other elements of a cross-section. As we passed the "Grassy Knoll," and looked up at the window, and saw the cross incised in the tarmac, I was interested by their lack of much interest. The event of Nov. 22, 1963 isn't half as real to them as the moment, say, when the planes commandeered by suicide-murderers flew into the New York skyline. Nor, as I realized, is it half as real or poignant to me as the site of Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. Time has a way of assigning value.

[kabar]

Only one son, Joe, was lost in military service to the country. The other two were a dis-service to the country and were lost to assassins, not in military action where the term '"in service to their country" is always used.

Your just plain wrong. At least have the decency to concede that being killed as President and CIC of the Armed Forces of the United States is being killed in the service of one's country. American diplomats killed at our missions abroad are also in service to their country. In fact, they are also entitled to be buried in Arlington. Robert Kennedy was killed while serving as a Senator from NY. He also served in the Navy in WWII.

[presidio9]

To my understanding, Camelot only ended when John-John died.

What a minute. Are you saying that they no longer have
the power to drive you to bouts of romantic wistfulness?

[Mudboy Slim]

ROFL...betcha Ol' Joe Kennedy's rollin' over in his grave upon seeing that his only surviving son is Teddy...MUD

[kabar]

Ah, yes, I was waiting for someone to trot out that old meaningless cliche. Hey, I remember where I was and what I was doing when my father died, and when my son was born, and when other significant events happened in my life. I remember where I was and what I was doing when George W. Bush was elected president. I remember where I was and what I was doing the moment I heard Bill Clinton say, "It depends on what the meaning of the word IS, is." That's the way normal human memory works: We more easily remember things that are significant to us, and quickly forget the mundane. Nothing special or magical or Arthurian (as in Camelot) about it.

You made my point except for the references to Clinton and the Bush election. JFK's death became "personal" to all of us who were old enough to remember. There are very few events that have that kind of impact. I gather you were not alive when JFK was killed or you are the greatest political junkie who ever lived. Let's wait another 40 years and see how much you recall about where you were and what you were doing when Clinton uttered his "is" remarks or Bush was elected. The only event that approaches November 22,1963 is 9/11. Take my word for it.

[kabar]

Where were you when Kennedy was shot?

[BlessedByLiberty]

In school - we were told the President was shot and to prepare to leave school in an orderly manner. A little while later we were told he was dead and to go home.

People were crying openly in the streets and yes I do remember it, but I also vividly remember many things of significance in my life. The day MLK was shot, the day RFK was shot. The attempted assasination of President Reagan and even Moscone/Milk killings.

All in the name of Kennedy mystique and a foggy notion of Camelot there is an almost worshipful way the media discusses Kennedy's murder; it seems an attempt to relegate the others to less importance.

Kennedy memories pale in comparison to the vividness of 9/11. Yes, some will say that is only because not enough time has not passed to put things into perspective. The three thousand people who were murdered that day will always be a vivid memory and truthfully a memory of more significance and pain to me than JFK.

[presidio9]

The only event that approaches November 22,1963 is 9/11. Take my word for it.

Now wait just one God damn minute. Worshipping immoral drug addict presidents is one thing, but are you suggesting that the Kennedy Assassination had more effect on America than 911??? Are you that brain dead?

[Wolfstar]

Kabar: I was in high school when Kennedy was shot. Specifically, I was in English class. Happy now?! John F. Kennedy's death did not become personal to me, nor was I ever enthralled with him, nor did he ever inspire me. Pick a cliche — any cliche that's sprouted about the man over the years, and I can assure you that I was not then nor have I ever been impressed.

As for Clinton's "meaning of the word IS, is," I will never forget it, because it's impact — to me, anyway — was profound. To witness a duly sworn Constitutional chief executive officer and commander-in-chief of the United States so thoroughly debase his office, the laws he was sworn to uphold, and the American people was deeply shocking to me. Equally as, if not more shocking was the fact that the media and his own party defended him, and much, if not the majority of the public just seemed to shrug.

The assassination of any head of state is shocking to the nation in which it occurs — all the more so for us since we are accustomed to stability in our political system. But John F. Kennedy was all that Christopher Hitchens described. It's long, long past time that we took the man down from his entirely undeserved pedestal and see him for what he truly was.

I am sick of the Left defining for me and this nation who is and is not "great." I do not confuse greatness with celebrity, charm, smooth oratory or what some deem to be good looks.

John F. Kennedy was not a great president. He was not a good president. He was not even a mediocre president. He was a lousy president because, like his emulator, Bill Clinton, he put his own hedonistic desires ahead of the best interests of the nation and Constitution he was sworn to protect and uphold.

[NYCVirago]

It may not have been specifically called "Camelot", but the seeds were sown while JFK was alive, imho...the Medyuh had created this myth of this vibrant young man and his young, pretty, well-dressed wife and perfectly-cute family. Jackie O ran with it after Jack was assassinated, but the Vast LeftWing Medyuh Whore'd was in on the charade since before Kennedy was ever elected. To my understanding, Camelot only ended when John-John died.

Fair enough points. But if JFK hadn't been shot, or if we had had a media back then who actualy covered his sexual pecadillos instead of covering them up, I don't think we'd be seeing the JFK worship lasting for quite so long.

[NYCVirago]

It is particularly galling to those of us who were born after he died. When we try to ask "exactly what was the big deal with this joker, liberals huff and explain to us: "You don't understand. I know exactly where I was when I heard that he had been shot." Big deal.

As a Gen Xer, I know what you mean. I wonder if our generation will go around for the next 50 years telling about where we were when we heard that Kurt Cobain died!

[presidio9]

I was in a bar called Shuckers on Hutichinson Island, Florida if it helps...

[kabar]

Now wait just one God damn minute. Worshipping immoral drug addict presidents is one thing, but are you suggesting that the Kennedy Assassination had more effect on America than 911??? Are you that brain dead?

LOL. Ad hominen attacks, emotionalism, and profanity don't succeed in the marketplace of ideas. I compared the two events in the context of how they affected the nation at the time. Yes, the assassination of Kennedy had a very profound effect upon the nation similar to 9/11. In the case of JFK, we didn't have the benefit of real time in terms of actually witnessing the event. I guess you just had to be present at the time to understand it. Watching the world's leaders walking behind the funeral procession was mind blowing. It was more than a national event. The entire world grieved. The reverberations of JFK's death affected the national psyche and altered our political history, for good or evil. Just imagine, forty years later the event still evokes the powerful emotion and animated discussion reflected in these posts.

[kabar]

I was 20 and in college when JFK was shot. Students were running through the streets crying telling everyone they could that he had been shot. The Student Union was filled with students in stunned silence who crowded around the television. The silence was punctured by occasional sobbing. Classes were canceled. It was a very sad, depressing day. Many of us just went out and got drunk.

[presidio9]

LOL. Ad hominen attacks, emotionalism, and profanity don't succeed in the marketplace of ideas.

Spare me. I had no interest you were that shallow or I would have not bothered conversing with you in the first place.

[wtc911]

You get your facts from television? The world is at your fingertips. I do my own research.

[Mudboy Slim]

"...if JFK hadn't been shot, or if we had had a media back then who actualy covered his sexual pecadillos instead of covering them up, I don't think we'd be seeing the JFK worship lasting for quite so long."

I agree...with all JFK's character problems, I doubt he wouldda aged well in the eyes of all but the most willfully-blind DemonRAT sheep.

FReegards...MUD

[kabar]

You are entitled to your opinion, but the assassination of Kennedy was an apolitical event in terms of the national reaction. That may be hard to believe given the highly charged partisan nature of our politics now. No matter whether you thought highly of him or not, it was a significant national eventthat evokes many memories. Do you really think that you will remember 40 years from now where and what you were doing when the tape of Clinton's "the meaning of is" interrogatory came out?

You are confusing the newsworthiness or significance of an event with your personal feelings about JFK. Only time will affect the media coverage, but I will bet that the 50th Anniversary will be an even bigger event than the 40th. It will then fade gradually from our national memory.

[kabar]

LOL. I didn't realize I was dealing with such a collossal intellect. Go figure. I feel honored.

[Wolfstar]

Do you really think that you will remember 40 years from now where and what you were doing when the tape of Clinton's "the meaning of is" interrogatory came out?

If I'm still alive 40 years from now, yes.

You are confusing the newsworthiness or significance of an event with your personal feelings about JFK.

Wrong, both in your presumption of what is in my mind, and in the intent of what I have been saying to you. I did not say the murder of a sitting president of the United States was insignificant. Quite the opposite. Rather, my point is that the man, JFK, does not deserve the status he has been given by the mere fact of his assassination.

I also said that it is a cliche that "those old enough to remember the assassination remember where they were and what they were doing." This is not so remarkable, nor is it a phenomenon associated only with exceptional historical events.

All human beings whose brains are not damaged such that their memory is impaired, remember the details of the most significant events in their lives. For example, I was in the stands when Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown. Although it was June 1973, I still remember the details of that day as if I just lived it. I remember in great detail the morning I put my most beloved dog to sleep, April 3, 1990. Even though he died in January 1970, I remember with great detail what happened the day my father died. And so on.

Whenever the Kennedy assassination comes up someone is sure to drag out the old saw about how most people remember where they were and what they were doing. What would be remarkable is if most people didn't remember.

[kabar]

I guess I will never know nor will you with any certainty how vividly you will remember the Clinton tape 40 years from now. It is on one hand a very public event and on the other hand a very personal one depending on how important it is to you.

What is remarkable about the JFK assassination or a 9/11 or a Pearl Harbor is the fact that an entire nation shares the same experience and attaches the same significance to it, more or less. It becomes part of your life in terms of the imprint it has on your memory as much as the death of a loved one or pet, the birth of child, or a historic sporting event. In fact, it may be a more vivid memory because of the constant reinforcement by the media.

Any famous figure who dies young is idealized. There is no doubt that JFK's status and reputation benefitted by his dying so young. He was also a charismatic figure who was becoming more and more popular. It reminds me of the Houseman poem about an athlete dying young.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away

From fields where glory does not stay,

And early though the laurel grows

It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut

Cannot see the record cut,

And silence sounds no worse than cheers

After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout

Of lads that wore their honours out,

Runners whom renown outran

And the name died before the man

I accept JFK for what he was,warts and all, i.e., an inspirational leader who had less than 3 years as President with personal problems. He served his country in war and died in its service as Commander in Chief. Everything is not black and white. Ask Rush Limbaugh...now.