The Eternal Flame at the grave of John F. Kennedy.
Arlington National Cemetary, Washington D.C.
November 22nd 2012 marked the 49th anniversary of the notorious passing of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. Kennedy's inaugural address contained several phrases that are now well-known, but it also included some less familiar remarks which are as relevant today as when they were first spoken in January 1961. Some of those phrases look eerily back from the page, with our knowledge of what has come to pass since their utterance. You can find the full text here.
It might well be a surprise to consider than the life and Presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy still has relevance in 2012.
Last week, when the Leveson Report was published, and the subject of the "free press" was being stretched to breaking point, I thought of Kennedy and the press of his time. It came as something of a shock to America, some years after Kennedy's death, to learn that he had the most unquenchable sexual appetite. He was neither discrete about his conquests, nor faithful to his wife. It was an open secret amongst White House staff, the Secret Service, and - amazingly - the White House Press Corps. Kennedy was having illicit relationships with interns, secretaries, prostitutes and numerous others, sometimes even in the White House.
It seem inconceivable today that Kennedy could have got away with this right under the noses of the press. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that Kennedy made Bill Clinton look like a shy Boy Scout. So how did he get away with it? Simple. Although the press knew that it was going on, the collective decision of the newspapers at the time was that Kennedy's personal morality, or the state of his marriage, was the business of the Kennedys alone. It was held that it didn't affect JFK's ability as a President and besides, it just wasn't "done" to expose a man's infidelities in 1963. It wasn't in the Public Interest. How times and attitudes have changed. It's an interesting contrast; reporters in possession of material that they could have published but chose not to. Now we have such information published purely because we can, regardless of whether there is true public interest or not. They publish because they can; they do not consider if they should. They publish in the name of the "free press" and occasionally vomit apologies over those who have been affected by their lack of judgement.
We could perhaps draw an analogy to someone with eating disorders. Presented with an endless array of food, they will gorge themselves until they are incapacitated, followed perhaps by resentfully regurgitating all over those around them. A more rational person will evaluate the food and make a wise choice about what to consume, and will have no need of vomiting.
Of course by today's standards, the extramarital relationships of a President would be inarguably in the public interest. In the time of John Major's Government, and the infamous "Back To Basics" campaign of family values, it turns out that practically everyone was at it. Hyposcrisy of the highest order. However, I don't much care if a certain footballer or celebrity has been sleeping with people they shouldn't have, unless their "selling point" is family values or honesty for example. To me that is not in the public interest, however much the public may be interested. There is a distinction to be made.
I thought about Kennedy some more. Perhaps the most well known of his quotations comes from that inaugural address in 1961:
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
Kennedy inspired a generation of Americans. He created the Peace Corps, a group of volunteers doing good things all over the country and the world. The Freedom Riders sought to oppose inequality in the South.
Fast forward to today. Enter David Cameron. Like JFK, Cameron is the wealthy son of a wealthy father, and the husband of a wealthy wife. Cameron has his "Big Society". So why hasn't Cameron's "vision" taken off in the same way that Kennedy's did?
It could be the times. It could be that we are more cynical now. My own opinion is that whilst asking for the help of the nation, Kennedy did not simultaneously demonise the poor in America, lamblasting the "something for nothing culture" while at the same time asking the people to contribute voluntarily. Kennedy did not set the American classes against each other, or promote inequality. Kennedy was wise and politically astute, Cameron is not.
Kennedy's Inaugural speech finished with this paragraph:
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."Ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you." You can argue that the population was politically more naive in 1961, before Nixon and Watergate, but it seems plainly obvious today that any politician who came out with this line would get laughed off the podium. Perhaps these words should be permanently displayed in the corridors of Westminster.
Who'd have thought that the late John F. Kennedy would still be teaching us things, nearly 50 years after his death?
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