On November 22, 1963, 60 years ago, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated by a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald. More than just a man or president died that day. This single act of violence forever changed the course of world history and humanity. President Kennedy was a man of peace, a true statesman, and an intellect. He was also a man who put America first. He believed it was the responsibility of every human being to treat everyone the same regardless of race, creed, political ideology, or religious affiliation.
From the jungles of Vietnam to the streets of Selma, Alabama, Kennedy reminded everyone that we are all human beings first and the greatest gift we can give our fellow man is to come to his aid in time of need. This was the single most important reason why he created the Peace Corps. An organization that still exists and does good throughout the world.
While advisors were sent to Vietnam, Kennedy was determined not to make Vietnam an all out war. He did not live to pull us out of Vietnam but every historian will tell you that was his intention. Instead, President Johnson committed ourselves to a war we could not win, an unpopular war, and the loss of 57,000 Americans and over one million Vietnamese .
During the Kennedy Presidency, the Southern part of the United States was engaged in open discrimination and Kennedy, along with his brother Robert F. Kennedy, sought to end it. He met resistance from every Southern governor and the KKK re-emerged. There is no telling what would have happened to the Civil Rights movement had President Kennedy lived to serve out a second term (or his brother Robert for that matter). But one thing was certain, he knew discrimination for any reason was wrong and he set out to change it.
President Kennedy questioned the wisdom of why the United States and the Soviet Union possessed so many nuclear weapons. Weapons that could wipe out humanity ten times over. He wanted to meet head to head with his counterpart in the Soviet Union, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, and dramatically reduce the number of nuclear warheads. Before they could meet on the subject, Khrushchev attempted to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, which initiated the Cuban Missile Crisis. President Kennedy handled the crisis in a different manner from previous administrations. Kennedy’s coolness and ability to look at the big picture avoided what was sure to be an all out nuclear war.
President Kennedy challenged Americans to be the best. From the automaker on the assembly line in Detroit, to the astronauts, engineers, and scientists at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Kennedy was not going to let America settle for second place. We would not forgo space to the Russians and we would not give up the hope of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Although he perished in 1963, his dream lived on and we landed on the moon in 1969.
Yes, the bullet that killed Kennedy 60 years ago changed history. Kennedy was sure to get a second term. He was that popular in the polls. Yet, he would not take anything for granted. So, on November 22, 1963, he went to Dallas, Texas, and met his fate. I started this essay by saying, “a loan gunman” killed Kennedy. We don’t know for sure and the conspiracy still lives on. But in the context of things, does it really matter. On that day, America lost its President, its leader, and with it the hope he gave many Americans. We would never be the same.
Good bye John Fitzgerald Kennedy, our nation misses you.
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