Oswald's Ghost

[bradygirl_12]

Tonight at 9:00 (EST) American Experience on PBS is presenting "Oswald's Ghost", a program about the Kennedy assassination and the cultural effects all these years later (it'll be 45 years this November 22nd).  I don't know if it'll be good or not, but the ads on the radio sounded interesting.

A lot of people born after the events of that day, or more than a decade after, never lived through the spirit of the times or the immediate aftermath, when the psychic pain was still sharp.

 

Well, he was only one man, you might say, and he was a philanderer, among other things, but that was Jackie's problem. He was a good President, a man who did take responsibility after the Bay of Pigs disaster, a mission he had inherited from the Eisenhower Administration but he still gave it the green light despite misgivings. When it all hit the fan he said it was his fault. His approval rating skyrocketed. Can you imagine the current occupant of the White House admitting he was wrong? About anything?

 

JFK inspired a generation of young and old to enter public service. Can you think of a politician today who could do that?

 

He gave us a sense of excitement and the feeling that we could do anything we set our minds to, best exemplified by the space program and the Peace Corps. He made us feel proud to be Americans.  The early ‘60s was a very different time.  It had its cons (blacks were still struggling for civil rights, women were second-class, gays dared not speak of their love at all) and pros (optimism, excitement, a can-do spirit).

 

JFK was the symbol of the times.  He was well-loved by many, and intensely hated by the right wing  On the day of his murder, the Dallas Morning News published an ad showing him in profile and full face as if he was a criminal being booked.  He was accused of treason for mediating with the Soviets. 

He was the first Irish Catholic President, not far removed from the days of ‘No Irish Need Apply’ signs and openly hostile anti-Catholic bias.  He received the benefit of the press' 'gentlemen's agreement' in which they kept his serial adultery out of the newspapers. He was no Boy Scout, but he was skeptical of military and CIA experts after the Bay of Pigs and because of his World War II service (the brass didn't always know what was right) and was probably a good choice to be in the office during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I shudder to think what might have happened if our current Prez had been in office during those tense days!

 

People believed in their Government pretty much back then, and gave the office of the Presidency respect. One of the most dramatic images of those years that I've seen was a photo of JFK on Cape Cod, sitting in an open-air convertible and talking to some people on the side of the road. He was not behind a bulletproof pane of glass or completely surrounded by Secret Service men. Some might say that openness helped get him killed.

I'd say it showed an innocence/openness of the times that we can never get back.

 

Whatever the case, nearly 70% of the American people today believe he was killed by a conspiracy. Lee Harvey Oswald was either a strategic genius, an incredible sharpshooter,  or the luckiest SOB on the planet that day in Dallas, because he allegedly used a World War II Italians Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that even the Italians thought was a piece of crap. 

 

Lee Harvey Oswald’s killer, Jack Ruby, a man with Mafia ties, calmly walked into the crowded basement of the Dallas Police Department, surrounded by FBI and Dallas cops, and walked right up to Oswald and shot him.

 

Most people wanted to believe their Government.  They bought the Warren Report when it was released on September 27, 1964.  They were given magic bullets and a lone gunman who plotted and brought down the President of the United States, who had defected to Russia in the late ‘50s and returned to the U.S. in the early ‘60s after a suicide attempt with a Russian wife and a baby.  How many people did the Cold War U.S. accept back from the heart of Soviet Russia in those days?  And Oswald couldn’t hold a job, was involved in one fringe political scheme after another, and declared he was a patsy when arrested on November 22, 1963.  His interrogation was not recorded, nor were any notes taken or were not produced. 

 

The autopsy notes of JFK’s body were destroyed or hidden away.

 

It’s a cliché by now to say that everything changed on November 22, 1963, but the Government had a lot of good will and faith stored up after the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War.  People began to think, what if they’re lying?  The tortured twisting and turning of the Warren Report sowed the seeds of doubt.  The bloody execution of a President on an American street had deeply shocked the nation, and in a tribalistic sense, the chief and leader had been slain.  The symbolism was cold and stark.

 

The Government clamped down on all film, stills, and other evidence.  The infamous Zapruder film was not shown to the American public until 1975, with only a few still photos ever published before that and grainy bootleg copies circulating among college campuses in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

 

Today the Zapruder film would have been on YouTube within 24 hours.

 

Back then, people were fed what the Government chose to give them.

 

The cracks in the foundation began to appear.

 

Then there was Vietnam.

 

The murder of Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

The murder of Bobby Kennedy.

 

Watergate.

 

And now, we’re as cynical as we can get.        

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

But when the Republicans investigated Clinton's womanising people thought them the wankers.

Did you know the 45th anniversary of Doctor Who will be on November 23, 1963 (UK). They repeated it the next week 'cos Kennedy's death was announced just beforehand. I've also heard there was a power outage as well in some areas but aren't too sure of that. Have you seen it? As I think the new series is the best thing on television at the moment. Although why Donna Noble? Why? Of the old series my favourite is the fourth Doctor or Tom Baker, of the new - I like David Tennant or number ten.

Sorry if I seem trivial but when someone mentions his assassination I think of "Doctor Who". It is a shocking thing that happened as well as sad. Plus there's so many what ifs. Ironically Bhutto's death reminds me of Kennedy's. She got assassinated publicly and the government is either incompetent or rubbish over the investigation. It seems almost a mirror for what happened over forty years ago. Except they can't hide the footage.

Angeloz

[bradygirl_12]

Did you know the 45th anniversary of Doctor Who will be on November 23, 1963 (UK). They repeated it the next week 'cos Kennedy's death was announced just beforehand.

No, I didn't know that! That's interesting.

I've also heard there was a power outage as well in some areas but aren't too sure of that.

There was a massive telephone failure in the Washington, D.C. area that day. Since there were no cellphones back then, land lines were what people depended on, and it was a wall of silence in the Capital.

I can't recall if other cities had the same problem, but I know for sure that D.C. did.

Have you seen it?

No, I'm not a Dr. Who fan. It's rarely if ever broadcast here.

Sorry if I seem trivial but when someone mentions his assassination I think of "Doctor Who". It is a shocking thing that happened as well as sad. Plus there's so many what ifs.

That's the saddest part, the what-ifs.

Ironically Bhutto's death reminds me of Kennedy's. She got assassinated publicly and the government is either incompetent or rubbish over the investigation. It seems almost a mirror for what happened over forty years ago. Except they can't hide the footage.

Yeah, today if November 22nd happened, there would have been cellphone pictures. Back then it was a heckuva lot easier to confiscate people's still and movie cameras, though Abraham Zapruder went to the CBS affiliate in Dallas and sold his film to Life Magazine before the Government got their hands on it.

Angeloz

[(Anonymous)]

I recommend the DVDs of "Doctor Who". You could start with the current Doctor Who series. In Australia there are 3 box sets but the last one hasn't been released yet in the US. They'd be listed as Series 1, 2 & 3 box sets. If you buy online then you'd find them on Amazon or at least what they look like. Start with Series 1 because it's made for new and old fans. The first episode is a bit weak because of this but the second episode is excellent. Actually it probably has more special effects than any other episode too. The first series also introduces Captain Jack who you'll probably love - I do. Let's just say he's known as an omnisexual or pansexual. Him saying hello is a come on. He went on the spin-off series "Torchwood" but also returned for the third season ("Doctor Who"). Try the first series (of "Doctor Who") 'cos I don't think you'll regret it. I'll admit of the new series I really love the third one. Sorry for going on about it but it has made me remember why I love "Doctor Who" although the special effects are top notch these days. As well as the writing. As stated it's the best thing on television. I hope you forgive the enthusiasm. If you get interested I could recommend stuff from the older series too but start with the new is my thought.

Angeloz

[bradygirl_12]

Thanks for the recs, Angeloz! :)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I remember the day, even though I was all of ten. The teachers and the older students were crying and we kept the TVs the fifth grade classes had on all day. It really did affect the entire generation, I think.

Yes, he was a womanizer, but so what? I wish that the worst we could say about the bozo we have in office now. It continues to amaze me how much he's getting away with. Womanizing seems such a trivial offense when compared to shredding the constitution.

[bradygirl_12]

I remember the day, even though I was all of ten. The teachers and the older students were crying and we kept the TVs the fifth grade classes had on all day. It really did affect the entire generation, I think.

It really did. It was such a psychic shock that it echoed throughout the decade and still echoes, IMO. It was an execution at high noon and so bloody it's still horrifying to watch today.

Yes, he was a womanizer, but so what? I wish that the worst we could say about the bozo we have in office now. It continues to amaze me how much he's getting away with. Womanizing seems such a trivial offense when compared to shredding the constitution.

Amen to that, Gilda!

Womanizing is regrettable but really is only the spouse's concern. If a man is a good President, that's what counts. FDR had an affair but he did a lot of good (and the affair was before he became President, and in the later years of the Presidency he saw Lucy Rutherford again but it was hardly a torrid thing, just companionship) and Lincoln is now rumored to be gay, something most people would think is a character flaw, but not us! :)