Remembering John F. Kennedy

President John F. Kennedy was a real American. Our world and nation was forever changed by his assassination. I’m going to write about his positive achievements as I believe they far out weight some of the missteps every President has made. 

JFK was a decorated WWII hero who later served political office from 1947 till his presidency ending in 1963 by assassination.

Many people thought JFK was too liberal for this country. But many do not understand the positive change he brought to our country and the world by his so called liberal ideas. He literally made us change the way we look and treat our fellow man. Not only did he make us think about this change, but the world started to look at itself as well. As we look back, many of his beliefs and crusades where right. His belief in Civil Rights and Civil liberties was the beginning of change this country needed.

The election he won was a close one. For the first time, the public watch a televised Presidential debate. It changed the way politicians campaigned. He was the second youngest President to be elected President and as the 35th President of the United States he was the first Catholic (which was a big issue during his campaign) .

He took office at the height of the cold war. Many people point to the Bay of Pigs fiasco as his failings. But, did you know the Bay of Pigs was already in motion before he took office? On advice from the Eisenhower administration, he executed the maneuver. He took all blame for it and never blamed the previous administration or republican ideals. I’m sure this was a lesson he would have never forget. Yet as we look back at his presidency many of his beliefs and ideals where right for us and the world.

One of his first Presidential acts was to establish the Peace Corp which helped create a better understanding of what the US ideals and people are about. During his short term in office, he brought the economy out of a recession and stagnation. US production rose 15%, auto sales by rose 40%. He was our first President to negotiate a limited nuclear test agreement. He worked to eliminate discrimination, and pushed for higher education funds, tax reform, and medical care for the elderly.

He produced an executive order to issue the “silver certificate” which allowed the government to print money against silver in the treasury. This allowed the government to stop borrowing money from the Federal Reserve Bank for interest (talk about looking forward!). This executive order was nullified in 1982 and eventually revoked in 1987 by another executive order putting us back in the mercy of the Federal Reserve Bank ). Had we continued with his executive order, we may not be in the financial bind we are seeing in our country.

JFK started the "Race to Space" funding the Apollo project. It sparked our imaginations. Our children wanted to be Astronauts or wanted to learn how to build spaceships. It sparked a growth in education. This project paved the way for many of the modern conveniences we take for granted today. From our environment to our everyday mundane lives, it spurred our imaginations and curiosity which was beneficial to our lives and our country.

One of the biggest changes he brought to our country which also made the world take notice was humanCivil Rights. President Kennedy worked to erase our prejudices toward fellow human beings. He pushed for equal rights for all. He pushed equal education and equal rights for services to all. He pushed the universities to except all qualified students regardless of race. He pushed all public services to provide the same service regardless of race. He made us start looking past the ethnics toward our fellow man. Made us think about the “right” way to treat our fellow human being.

 

I believe President John F Kennedy was the last President this country had that made a real difference in our country and world. He brought social change and reform. He fought for the common man in this country. He fought for equality. It would be interesting to know where our country would have been had his life not ended so abruptly in Nov of 1963. He and his brother Robert helped introduce change in this country for the better. From my accounts and the history I’ve read, both brothers had a finger on the pulse of America and what was needed to make our country a greater place in the world.

I couldn't cover everything in this blog, the Cuban Missile crises and others. There are many things I have missed about this man through his political career. I felt the need to highlight the accomplishments and not the flaws that all humans have. This was a man that was thought to be too liberal at the time, yet today, as we look back, they were not liberal ideas. They were the right ideas. This man made that made a difference in our lives even to this day. I invite you to look at the man and see what a difference one man can make in our world.

His brother Robert shared the same ideals and I will share them with you in a separate blog in the future.