Post No. 490 - Was JFK a great US President?

Yes.

There ... that's this post done - and with a single word :)

There's been quite a bit in the media about the former US President, given the recent 50th anniversary of Kennedy's [2] assassination. Inevitably, some of it has been speculation about whether or not Kennedy "would have been a great President". Well, I actually consider that Kennedy was a great President, and had no need of accomplishing anything further in order to attain to 'greatness'. Possibly Kennedy could have done more, had he lived - particularly IF successfully re-elected (don't forget, although it was probably unlikely, he could potentially have lost the next US Presidential election), but Kennedy could also have stuffed his legacy up, as well. Kennedy was human, as we all are, and he made mistakes - as we all do (particularly in his slowness to engage with civil rights, and his initial actions around Vietnam) ... but when you're in a position of influence as Kennedy was, the significance of your strengths and weaknesses is magnified.

Before this recent anniversary, I would have said that I consider Kennedy a great US President because of Kennedy's handling of the Cuban missile crisis, Kennedy's work to ease the threat of nuclear war, Kennedy's work for freedom such as backing those in Berlin, and some of the things he did like the Peace Corps. Having now been through this anniversary, I realise that a very large part of Kennedy's greatness was his capacity to inspire hope - the words Kennedy left behind are as much a reason to acknowledge Kennedy's greatness as anthing else.

Now, notice the impersonal way I've written the above? I've used "Kennedy" a lot, the way the media do, whereas if I'd been writing about a 'normal' human being I would have followed normal writing conventions and used 'he' after the first mention of the person's name. The problem is, if I do that, I could be accused of 'putting Kennedy on a pedestal' - worshipping Kennedy, in other words. It's bull, but it's the sort of idiotic bull that I've had thrown my way - notably, by a neo-christian who was having a go at me over Lobsang Rampa. It is also one of the ways that current media is, in my view, lacking in competence - taking on the superficial visage of impersonal words as an homage to objectivity, rather than living the intellectual grittiness of true human-focused objectivity - the sort of objectivity that realises that what is important is the principle that journalism is for and about people, about not getting caught up in the moment at the complete expense of perspective, which is something that can be hard to manage when, for instance 'embedded'.

I doubt that I - and those in Spirit that I work with - could have come up with the previous paragraph if I hadn't been thinking about words, and their capacity to inspire :)

Now, let's have a look at how what I had written would have looked if I had been writing a NORMAL way, about an everyday human being, without the fear of persecution - which is what that is - of false 'worship' hanging over my head.

Yes. 

There ... that's this post done - and with a single word :) 

There's been quite a bit in the media about the former US President, given the recent 50th anniversary of his assassination. Inevitably, some of it has been speculation about whether or not Kennedy "would have been a great President". Well, I actually consider that he was a great President, and had no need of accomplishing anything further in order to attain to 'greatness'. Possibly he could have done more, had he lived - particularly IF successfully re-elected (don't forget, although it was probably unlikely, he could potentially have lost the next US Presidential election), but he could also have stuffed his legacy up, as well. Kennedy was human, as we all are, and he made mistakes - as we all do (particularly in his slowness to engage with civil rights, and his initial actions around Vietnam) ... but when you're in a position of influence as that man was, the significance of one's strengths and weaknesses is magnified.

Before this recent anniversary, I would have said that I consider Kennedy a great US President because of his:

• handling of the Cuban missile crisis, 

• work to ease the threat of nuclear war,

• work for freedom such as backing those in Berlin, and

• some of the things he did like the Peace Corps.

Having now been through this anniversary, I realise that a very large part of Kennedy's greatness was his capacity to inspire hope - the words he left behind are as much a reason to acknowledge Kennedy's greatness as anything else.

So ... don't forget: impersonal words are not objectivity: if you're writing about a human being, you should be acknowledging that, because our humanity is a key part of the fact of our existence.

As a final point, my slightly altered perspective is due largely to this article: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/kennedy-assassination-50-years-jfk



[1] BPF = Balanced Positive (spiritual) Forces. See here and here for more on this.

[2] Please see here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"). 

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr 
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux?)

My "blogiography" (list of all posts - currently not up to date) is here.  

I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ...  See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "pagans for peace" project (and join me at 9 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag.

• One size does NOT fit all. 
• Gnwmythr's Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if  the simplest solution is actually recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
• May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
• Ban the dream interpretation industry! 
• A home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better” class than others.
• Housework is for ensuring a home is comfortable to live in, not competing to outdo or belittle others.
• Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master. 
• "Following the crowd" is not "going with the flow".
• Armageddon is alive and well and happening right now: it is a battle between the indolence of "I only ..." and/or "I just ..." and/or "Everyone knows ... " and/or "they can ..." and what Bruce Schneier [2] calls "security theatre" on one side, and perspicacity and the understanding that the means shape the end on the other. Indolence vs. perspicacity, and expediency vs. honour.
• The means shape the end.  
• Sometimes you just can't argue with a biped that is armed with a sharp stick, a thick head and not too much in the way of grunts.
• As words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
• My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi". However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films.

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger [people]. JOHN F. KENNEDY (quoting 19th century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)

Jesus loves you.  Odin wants you to grow up. (Facebook meme, according to John Beckett)

Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent. Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious. JANE ELLIOTT 

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing. (based on writing by) EDMUND BURKE

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." EINSTEIN

We didn't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Those whom we cannot stand are usually those who we cannot understand P.K.SHAW

Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, and the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change." SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY (US Attorney General 1966 Speech) 

Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." ROBERT F. KENNEDY 1968

Tags: attitudes, John F Kennedy, politics, society, 

First published: Laugardagr, 30th November, 2013

Last edited: Saturday, 30th November, 2013