The Kennedy Assassination: A Lot Can Happen in 43 Years
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on this date, Nov. 22, in 1963. I was a fifth-grader in Omaha, Neb., 10 years old, when Kennedy was shot down in the streets of Dallas. The event made a lasting impression on me, as it did most members of my generation. It has popularly been observed that we who were alive then can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we first heard the shocking news.
Nov. 22 became a special date on the calendar, joining other fateful dates such as June 6 (“D-Day”) and Dec. 7 (Pearl Harbor). However, more than four decades later, the historical significance of today’s date occurred to me today for the first time only this afternoon. I had to look it up to confirm my memory that this is indeed the date I suddenly realized it was. I heard no mention of JFK on the radio during my 20-minute drive to work this morning; nor have I heard him mentioned today in conversation. Looking now on the Internet, I do see several dozen media references to Kennedy’s assassination, but it is not one of today’s top stories.
I think it is fair to say that the impact of the Kennedy assassination is diminishing in our collective consciousness. That, I suppose, is inevitable. How many know the date upon which Lincoln was shot (Good Friday, April 14, 1865)? How many know even the names of the other two presidents beside Lincoln and Kennedy who were assassinated (Garfield and McKinley)? Kennedy’s youthfulness and charisma were compelling, and his image acquired a near-godlike aura after his martyrdom. However, all these years later, when the public was asked earlier this year to rank the 11 presidents since World War II, Kennedy still ranks high on the list, but only third after Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Each generation has its notable dates. In the early 21st century it is “9/11,” a calendar reference that the public will not forget for a very long time to come. Of course, four decades ago I might have guessed that the public would never forget what happened on Nov. 22, 1963. But a lot can happen in forty years.
I think the main reason that not a lot was made of JFK this year is that it’s the 43rd anniversary–not a nice round number such as the media likes. I would suspect in two years, at the 45th anniversary, you might see and hear a bit more, and seven years form now, in 2013, it will mark the 50th anniversary, and there will be a big deal made of JFK’s passing.
However, I do think you’re right. As our generation ages, the “importance” of JFK’s assassination diminishes. That’s not to say that the ramifications are no longer relevant, it’s just that there are other more current historical events that we will be dealing with–9/11 for example.
The JFK assassination and the subsequent investigation gave birth to our distrust of government, but the lingering consequences of an event like 9/11 changed how we do things in our lives in so many ways–from the way our personal information is handled, our travel plans, etc., that I believe that event will affect a greater number of us, and for a much longer period of time–possibly forever.
Good comments, Dave. It will be interesting to see what is made of JFK’s assassination in 2013. His assassination sent our nation into a state of shock, as if such a possibility was unthinkable (although, of course, there had been three previous presidential assassinations). In more recent times, I think we have grown used to the notion that almost anything is possible — and therefore, less shocking.
However, I do believe that the shock was not only because a president had been shot, but because that particular president — JFK — had been gunned down. There was something about JFK, and his death, that drew a strong and visceral response from the public. I’m not sure why, and surely it goes deeper than the fact that he was young and attractive. A more recent parallel is the death of Princess Diana, and the amazing response the public had to her. I do not think the public’s remarkable response to her death can be logical explained. Some personalities, in life and in death, affect the public in ways that are surprising and inexplicable.