November 22
Those who believe that "9/11" will always stop traffic should note how
little is said of its predecessor date of significance, the date on
which the President of the United States was murdered in Texas.
I was eleven years old then, in sixth grade. That morning, my class had a brief discussion of "current events" (the ruling outlawing the prayers which had started the school day was only a few months old and teachers used it as a way to get us to think about the world around us---a daunting task in sixth grade). We knew who the President was (and living in New Jersey I was proud that the President came from the same state as the one where I was born: Massachusetts), that he was much younger than President Eisenhower was, had a sense of humor, and seemed eager to get us motivated to do something: what it was was quite unclear to me.
By the end of that day I joined the Planet Earth as an independent person. There has not been a day since then that I have not read a newspaper and worried about how the rest of the world impacts on what happens to the people closest to me.
The reason his death was so meaningful to so many of us has been well documented elsewhere. All I can add is that both Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy meant something to a little boy as sort of a symbol of greatness of what someone can achieve and, especially in President Kennedy, hope.
I have never felt the same since. It is a day I remember precisely and with a sadness that comes every year on November 22, a date I can only look at with the same horror as it held in 1963.
While I first wrote this essay a year ago, Pete Fornatale played the Byrds (or Roger McGuinn's) version of these lyrics on the radio. They have had extraordinary meaning for me since I first heard them in the mid 1960s:
He was, and continues to be a hero to me: the greatest American to have lived during my time on this planet and his presence in this country remains extremely strong today.
The preceding was written, in the main, a year ago and published elsewhere. There are a few things worth adding, I suppose: gratitude that 45 years after that horrible day it is a Kennedy who will lead the Senate fight for universal health insurance, and hope for a future which will being again in January.
But I think the most appropriate postscript is this part of the of the most famous inaugural address we have ever heard, that has been quoted so often since November 4, and today:
Yes, we can.
I was eleven years old then, in sixth grade. That morning, my class had a brief discussion of "current events" (the ruling outlawing the prayers which had started the school day was only a few months old and teachers used it as a way to get us to think about the world around us---a daunting task in sixth grade). We knew who the President was (and living in New Jersey I was proud that the President came from the same state as the one where I was born: Massachusetts), that he was much younger than President Eisenhower was, had a sense of humor, and seemed eager to get us motivated to do something: what it was was quite unclear to me.
By the end of that day I joined the Planet Earth as an independent person. There has not been a day since then that I have not read a newspaper and worried about how the rest of the world impacts on what happens to the people closest to me.
The reason his death was so meaningful to so many of us has been well documented elsewhere. All I can add is that both Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy meant something to a little boy as sort of a symbol of greatness of what someone can achieve and, especially in President Kennedy, hope.
I have never felt the same since. It is a day I remember precisely and with a sadness that comes every year on November 22, a date I can only look at with the same horror as it held in 1963.
While I first wrote this essay a year ago, Pete Fornatale played the Byrds (or Roger McGuinn's) version of these lyrics on the radio. They have had extraordinary meaning for me since I first heard them in the mid 1960s:
He was a friend of mine, he was a friend of mine
His killing had no purpose, no reason or rhyme
He was a friend of mine
He was in Dallas town, he was in Dallas town
From a sixth floor window a gunner shot him down
He was in Dallas town
He never knew my name, he never knew my name
Though I never met him I knew him just the same
Oh he was a friend of mine
Leader of a nation for such a precious time
He was a friend of mine
He was, and continues to be a hero to me: the greatest American to have lived during my time on this planet and his presence in this country remains extremely strong today.
The preceding was written, in the main, a year ago and published elsewhere. There are a few things worth adding, I suppose: gratitude that 45 years after that horrible day it is a Kennedy who will lead the Senate fight for universal health insurance, and hope for a future which will being again in January.
But I think the most appropriate postscript is this part of the of the most famous inaugural address we have ever heard, that has been quoted so often since November 4, and today:
Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah -- to "undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free." And, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor -- not a new balance of power, but a new world of law -- where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this Administration; nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
Yes, we can.
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Thank you for this.
November 22, 2008 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Very nicely done, an excellent piece. I particularly like the new ending. Be well, take care and best regards.
November 22, 2008 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
absolutely so, because these words from the President-elect on that glorious night just a few weeks back, can only make us think of better days to come:
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.
November 22, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's so much easier to read these words knowing we now have a fitting successor to his legacy.
Thank you.
November 22, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
At the time I thought the boycott of Cuba stupid. And still do.
On the other hand, I thought the Peace Corps an amazing idea. And still do.
November 22, 2008 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed. And those who constantly go back to the Kennedy Assassination as a "touchstone" moment should remember that Pearl Harbor Day (Dec 7) came before it.
Every generation has it's "moments" and doesn't understand why other generations don't redefine themselves in terms of those particular moments.
More than 1/2 of the US Population wasn't even born at the time of the JFK Assassination. It's hardly surprising it is properly viewed as history rather than a life event in the media.
November 22, 2008 1:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
But the other half of us feels it very keenly. And, by the way, I think most of us, including someone born almost 11 years later, "remember" December 7, 1941 as a day that truly does live infamy. I was seven years from birth when President Roosevelt dies on April 12, 1945, too, but yet that day has meaning for me despite the fact that I did not live through it.
November 22, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
And I agree. I never personally knew any of the heroes of history. But their stories inspire, enrich and inform my life.
November 22, 2008 6:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
CT,
It is irrelevant to me if you are older or younger than I. I learn from people of both categories.
"and doesn't understand why other generations don't redefine themselves in terms of those particular moments"
My parents never demanded I pay homage to their defining moments, nor did I impose a similar fealty requirement on the younger generation. In fact I think all generations are equally wise in this, we see our children repudiate some of our values often times and that is part of their forming their own identity. Martin Luther King and Kennedy are abstractions to young people now, but they have heros to replace them. It is the way of the world and if we honor our history and love our music and recall our memories at times it is because we own to the authenticity of our lives, and those lives do not become less authentic with age. The generations do not lose value with age nor do they gain it with age, or youth for that matter. We are all equally of value, our lived history is equally of value, and no generation that I know of should downgrade those who came before or those who follow. That strikes against the innate dignity of the individual and what strikes against that leads to dark places.
In my younger years I hung out in pool halls and such places and in one place an old white guy used to come in with a walrus mustache, army fatigue coat and some crazy farmer kind of hat. He would come in and eat food off plates that people left around. I was going to "goof" on him to maintain my status, but an older black guy said to back off. "He's got brain damage from the beating he took in the freedom rides." True story.
I was making some easy judgments, but they didn't take into fact the authenticity of that man's life as an individual. It was a turning point for me and I think that was the moment I started trying to see under the generalizations- to the people to the common humanity. To try and understand what made life rich for people, why people clung to old things, and not judge them for it but understand that its whatever gets you through. Lawrence Welk, Jay-Z, Beatles, Ludacris, Martha and the Vandellas, Mozart... its all ok, its all honorable.
Someone recently here on TPM made a wholly gratuitous generational insult: something like "your generation is well past its freshness date". One of the more self-destructive comments I have read here. Will that commenter condemn himself in the few short years it takes to reach our age? I hope not. I hope he learns something about humanity, true humanity and our shared community of all ages, before that moment comes and he sees himself as something less than human, something diminished for merely having circled around our shining sun a few cycles more than the average.
November 22, 2008 9:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love this comment Lux.
November 22, 2008 9:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is a comment worthy of reverence. Your soul shines through.
November 22, 2008 10:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your blueberries are always the best.
November 23, 2008 3:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
I really wish we could recommend comments. Great sentiments Lux.
November 23, 2008 3:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lux,
You are missing my point. I never said you couldn't learn from others as individuals. My point is quite different: Boomers (as a collective group) often want their experience to be pre-eminent among others. The Boomer generation (and here I differentiate it from the Jones generation that followed) was the largest demographic ever and therefore the target of marketers like the world has never seen.
This is the generation that give us the quest for eternal youth: everything from "don't trust anyone over 30" to "50 is the new 30" (or whatever).
Especially on a board full of politically active people, this generation acts as if their experience literally defined the country. Not surprising, this group gave us the "me" decade...
It's easy to discern people's ages at TPM these days, especially with the JFK commentary. There are those who, clearly, see it as a water mark of their life -- and don't understand why it's faded from importance to the collective masses. This doesn't mean the assassination isn't a watershed historical fact, but it's airplay is much larger, year and year, relative to other historical watershed anniversaries. This is not accidental. But it is changing and that surprises the Boomers. It's a sign of their mortality and leaving of the world stage.
They will not be giving up the stage lightly. To some extent I viewed the Democrat primary as a symbolic version of our coming history: the shocked Boomer, with a sense of entitlement, wondering why the Joneser wasn't "waiting his turn." Indeed, we heard the "wait his turn" during the campaign.
The Boomers have changed our school systems dramatically -- for the worse, I believe. If you are a left leaning Boomer, there is careful thought control on every topic imaginable, zero-tolerance policies to absurd levels, etc. -- all in the name of protecting the children. If you are a right leaning Boomer, there is careful thought control to hold onto traditional values of yore. Call it political correctness or traditional values, the end result is the same. Either way, teachers have less flexibility, students have less unstructured time, and lawyers can have a field day as never before.
I liken the Boomers to the very pretty girl used to getting a lot of attention until she thinks of it as the norm. She tends to think that others find her fascinating, not because of her looks, but for a variety of other reasons. As she ages, however, the perks are fewer and farther between -- people move onto younger, pretty girls. And then our pretty girl is shocked she isn't getting the attention she used to get. Similarly, as the Boomers age, they are less of a choice of marketers and less of a central point of our country.
Our 2 Boomer presidents (Clinton and Bush) are closer to each other than many people want to admit -- each kept the country moving to the right, because now that Boomers are older, they wanted a "safer" country, more religious and conservative.
I, for one, will welcome the Boomers unusually high generational influence on the culture.
November 23, 2008 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Damn! That last line should read:
I, for one, will welcome the end of the Boomer's unusually high generational influence on the culture.
November 23, 2008 5:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Every generation does some good and some bad. The Boomers, and their parents, and their parents. And also, a side note: the Boomers were the largest generation at one point, no so anymore: their children are now. Call them the Echo Boomers, the Millenials, but they're larger in size than the 1946-1964 group of boomers.
But I wouldn't expect their influence to decline anytime soon. The AARP is the most influential lobby in the country, and they're just starting to sign up.
November 23, 2008 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do you have a link for those demographics as broken down by age? Everything I've read says the US population is getting older which would imply that the Boomers are still holding sway.
November 23, 2008 8:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I should have clarified - because of the debate over the exact years of the Boomer Generation and the more heated debate over the exact years of the Millenial Generation, you might come up with different numbers.
U.S. Census says 78.2 million estimated boomers, born between 46 and 64.
Numbers for the millenials vary even more. I've seen numbers between 80 and 95 million.
I saw a chart of the sizes of the generations earlier and for the life of me cannot find it again. But the millennials are in the news, there's at least several articles out there if you're interested in googling, in particular as it relates to this election as well as 2016, as more millennials come of age.
It is really interesting though that the talk is always about our aging population. (Boomer-centric media?) Yes, the boomers are starting to retire, which is a HUGE chunk of our population, but it is also at the same time their children, the children of the Echo Boom, are coming of age. On the other hand, I guess it mathematically makes sense, as determined by the median age: if the boomers are hitting 65, and the millenials are turning 18/in college, the babies being born now will be a smaller cohort because they are mostly being born to the smaller cohort of Generation X. Does that make any sense?
November 23, 2008 11:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I applaud your effort, but without more specific data I fear we will be grappling at vague concepts. For example, percentages are important. Your link talks about Utah being the only state where Boomer are less than 25% of the population (makes sense since Mormons like large families)... but most states have Boomer populations of 30%... and that is a *lot*.
Either way, we are only at the point where Generation Jones is beginning to flex it's political muscle (e.g. Obama/Palin/etc.), so it remains to be seen what the last vestiges of Boomer influence will look like.
November 24, 2008 12:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's pretty much the nature of the beast - "studying" the generations is always grappling at vague concepts. They're still arguing over the exact size of the boomers/exact years that define them, so I figure we'll get a straight answer on that and the millennials around the time I hit 85 or so. ;)
30% is a little on the higher end, but New England has an older population than the West, say. 28% or so of the 2000 population is the proportion of the Boomers to the whole. So it's not that far off. The most conservative estimate of the size of the millennials is about the same proportion.
But I apologize if my comments were ambiguous - I haven't meant to imply that boomer influence was waning, quite the opposite. Only pointed out that the earliest boomers are joining the AARP, and will still have quite a bit of flex there as they continue to do so.
In any event, I'm not so quick to want them off the stage of influence. I just don't want them to be the only ones up there.
November 24, 2008 8:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obviously Lux is more in sync with my own views than yours, Clearthinker and I am sorry for your resentment. Like Lux, I do not denigrate the experiences of those who occupy a different time than have I, nor do I think that events have inordinate importance based simply on when they took place (or how old I was when they did.)
The significance of President Kennedy's death is surely not because I happened to be alive on that day and you, apparently, were not. Neither of us were around when Lincoln was inaugurated or Franklin Roosevelt elected, but both of those events have had huge significance in both our lives.
November 27, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the quiet and well-spoken reply. I just want to resist easy generalizations about individuals or groups for that matter. When you're talking about tens of millions of people, rich, poor-as-dirt, farmers, factory workers, lawyers, walmart greeters, different ethnic groups, and different religions, you are taking in a lot of territory and it is doubtful even a plurality of those people are the self-absorbed, people you describe. Maybe you are describing white middle class pundit class type people. The rest of us probably don't fit your model so neatly since characterizing ourselves or comparing ourselves or belittling other generations is the last thing on many of our minds. I think a lot of us don't spend our lives looking in a mirror and praising how great our generation was/is. If anything, we give homage to the generations before. Kennedy wasn't a Boomer, Neither was Roosevelt or Martin Luther King or any of the other heros we praise or write posts about...hardly evidence of self-absorption. So a lot of us give credit to other generations and don't think history begins and ends with us. Not by a long shot! And the marketeers forget about us and good riddance to them!
A lot of us are hardworking folks trying to make it through, caring for our aging parents, caring for our unemployed children. Getting it from both sides oftener than not. Maybe that's the root complaint "You had(have) it easy!" There's probably some truth to that. In our lifetime the economy was good for most people, although there's a lot of boomer generation people who didn't start seeing good until the nineties were halfway over. I know my early years were tougher than most on average, but a lot better than my neighbors and a heck of a lot of others.
A generation is a useful abstraction only, a completely artificial and arbitrary division of what is a continuum of life and experience and it is made up of individuals and not all given to the same set of reflections or dismays, or expectations that one might want to attribute to them. All we can safely say is that they all lived through such and such historical events and be very cautious accepting the pundit class's almost mindless culture-talk about them. Because we are all Americans together and it is the culture that really shapes us more than our ages.
Separatists have been around since Garvey and before but they never got much traction urging people to move away, because people identified with their cities "Why should I leave St Louis?" and the culture itself. My name Lux has two meanings for me now, from church latin and also from chicago piano culture: Meade Lux Lewis, who you may know about but maybe not. All part of this great culture we are enmeshed in Greatest Generation, Boomers, X'ers, etc. I want us to come together, but don't blanket criticisms like you make tend to drive us apart?
On a side note: you mentioned you were a VIP at shuttle launchings on another thread. My ears perked up because NASA is a reading interest of mine and I first got interested in reading about it when I read a great book called "The Pre-Astronauts" about the early high altitude manned balloon trips of the early mid fifties. If you ever feel like sharing any of your history with the program I know I (and probably others who share this interest) would love to hear about it.
November 23, 2008 10:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I absolutely agree and often my colleagues and I talk about how valuable such characterizations are. On the other hand, I also agree with Hilary where sociological studies parse things in such ways that it becomes a somewhat useful concept.
Often the concept of "baby boomers" is applied to those folks at the peak of the curve (and if you go back on one of these JFK threads I pointed that out explicitly) -- these are the people who were college age between about 1968-1974 (or so), and went to college. There were the privileged folk who tend to have the stereotypical viewpoints... and who are the ones really clinging on. Of course, my definition is a bit fuzzy here -- as you might expect when dealing with population demographics.
I have met more than one boomer from that era who will candidly admit that their view was that many of those on campuses protesting were (a) doing it for selfish reasons (e.g. they didn't want to die in Vietnam -- this is not about the immorality of the war) and (b) doing it because it was easy to do (e.g. many people were doing it). In other words, working off the high principles we sometimes hear about weren't in the equation at all. This viewpoint makes sense in that it explains why the movement collapsed so rapidly once the draft ended: there were no personal motives to stick ones neck out.
I'll also point out that many here idolize RFK, but there were plenty of young college students that really hated him. These were the students who were canvasing for Eugene McCarthy. Their view (and this is easily substantiated) is that RFK was a shameless opportunist. Vietnam, after all, was his brother's war as much as LBJ's -- and RFK was definitely a hawk. Moreover, it was McCarthy that did the ballsy maneuver and challenged Johnson -- thus paving the way for the idea that Johnson could be challenged. For these McCarthyites, RFK tried to jump on the bandwagon at the last minute and used his name to an advantage. (This is similar to those Kennedy's running in MA -- primaries have collapsed once one enters his name, and Hillary also collapsed a primary in NY in 2000 when she decided to run for Senate. And that primary also included a strong woman candidate.)
My point is simply that it's frustrating to me to find the usual Kumbaya "received wisdom" that you can get on the MSM on TPM. Malcolm X was just as important a part of the 60s and the black awareness as MLK. But all we get are people here saying the world ended in 1968 -- and now with Obama we can go forward again.
That's just too simple. Here is an example of how the world has progressed some: Palin's daughter is having a child out of wedlock -- and it was barely a story. Slice it any way you want, but that is a shocking amount of tolerance since 1968. We have Roe v Wade. That, too, is a major shift from 1968. Women, and to a lesser extend gays, have made tremendous social progress in society.
All since 1968.
The point being, I don't want to be part of a Dem Party where we claim that the last 40 years was invalid. That's the same exact narrow thinking that people here complain about the GOP. We need to sweep the old attitudes off the stage, once and for all, because they are battles that fewer and fewer of us not only are vested in, but also even understand. I don't want to live in a country of Hatfields and McCoys. That's one thing I really like about Obama. Coming as a Joneser, it does seem he is trying to say: that was the past, this is now. And while one should always learn from the past, one need not wallow in it either.
I really enjoy discussing this with you and Hilary, thanks for the opportunity.
November 23, 2008 11:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
You too CT. This is one of my favorite topics.
November 24, 2008 8:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lux: RE: your side note:
I assume you meant this comment where I talk about witnessing a Shuttle Launch. I would highly recommend looking at the book I mention in that comment, it's available on the Internet, and you may even want to start with the pages I mention.
My experience with NASA is varied. Lately, I've been helping NASA sort out issues with the Constellation program -- including estimating cost. You would be shocked to find out how many NASA managers don't know the real history of the organization -- and that's where you start getting into trouble. What's surprising is that NASA has a very good history it wrote itself. For a sample, dig into this:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/toc.htm
I will continue this comment below as I have one more link I want to include...
November 23, 2008 11:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
I also highly recommend going to http://www.nasawatch.com/ . This site is not an official NASA site but is well-respected by those working at NASA. Often internal memos are leaked by employees to this site. You can see the general frustration between management and employees. Budget mismanagement, including overruns, are described in detail in real-time. You can also see NASA spin -- or how others (including Congress) try to spin NASA.
November 23, 2008 11:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
thanks for the links! Its one of the great things about TPM is how we can mildly disagree sometimes and yet exchange information and links that round us out even further.
I remember when I first heard about Sputnik. I got the news a little late probably but still I remember looking up in the daylight sky expecting I would see something like a bright marble flying overhead!
November 24, 2008 12:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
While it's not Sputnik, you can use this page
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/
to track when the ISS will be overhead your area. And yes, you can see it fairly easily with a dark night sky and a pair of binoculars.
Good luck, Lux.
November 24, 2008 12:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just got here CT after reading your comment over on the David Seaton thread. No, I hadn't revisited this page. Thank you for the link which I just went up to see: how does one use the elevation number? What part of the sky?
I much appreciate the best wishes, CT. I remember bad old days when you were being mobbed by the regnant people then and I came to your side once or twice. Same with dear Tankard. I don't have to agree with someone to defend them if I think the group as a whole is being unfair.
best wishes
November 25, 2008 11:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look at
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/help.html
and
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/quickstart/index.html
I highly recommend this exercise -- it's pretty cool to watch something that big orbit and realize that we put it up there.
I tend not to care about the "mob rule" here, many of my thoughts are not in the mainstream because of evidence others don't know or don't consider. I figure a few minds who are at least open to these thoughts are worth the effort. Unlike many, I really don't come here to meet people -- I come to be stimulated by ideas. But I still appreciate your consideration of my ideas!
November 25, 2008 11:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes it is amazing to think we land apes are capable of such engineering. I love nothing more than to look at the generator room at the Bonneville Dam and contemplate the engineering behind those 200 ton dynamos. And then think of us venturing out on to the Serenghetti eons ago, dragging thornbushes behind us as mobile shelters from the predators out there.
I really appreciate the Victorian era engineers. But the problem solving and sheer ingenuity of the NASA engineers will probably never be surpassed.
November 26, 2008 12:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you. Recommended reading in light of the mess we find ourselves in today, and the remarkable individual who will shortly assume the terrible burden of cleaning it up.
November 22, 2008 9:36 PM | Reply | Permalink