Chasing Kennedy

Today, 53 years ago, President John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, TX. His murder remains a subject of great debate, with conspiracy theories of all types rising from the events of that day. If you ask people of that generation, they can all tell you where they were that day.

Jack Kennedy has served as a ghost to chase for Democrats for over a generation. He was inspirational, and aspirational. He called for a nation to reach for the Moon, but also to right it's wrongs in regards to Civil Rights. He asked what we could do for the country, and created the Peace Corps to give an opportunity to do it. He was absolutely a mixed bag- he screwed up royally on the Bay of Pigs, but showed resolve in the Cuban Missile Crisis; He didn't achieve his Civil Rights aspirations, but he certainly was a catalyst in making things happen; He did put more advisors in Vietnam, but he also clearly wasn't willing to go fully into the Southeast Asian war. JFK was complicated, and yet he is the inspirational light that unites a lot of Americans in their hopes for our politics.

I personally draw more inspiration from JFK's brother Bobby than from him, but that is not because I don't see the appeal of JFK and his short Presidency. I was born 20 years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, and it has always been part of the history books for me. Even so, it's important today to remember him, and what he stands for to many others. RIP JFK, the nation could use just about any leader of your capability at this time.