MAAS: Master Program in American Studies
  • Home
    • Events
  • Courses
    • Overview 2015-2016
    • General courses 2015-2016 >
      • Methodology of Trans-Atlantic American Studies
      • American History, Politics, Economics I & II
      • American Culture : Regions and Ethnicities
      • U.S. Law and Justice in an International Context
      • Master Thesis
    • Electives 2015-2016 >
      • The American Way of Religion
      • Literary Journalism Across Cultures
      • America and the Challenge of Terrorism
      • Postmemory and Postmodern: Third-Generation Jewish American Trauma Narratives (MA English)
      • European Union Trade Policy (MSc in EU Studies)
      • European Common Agricultural Policy (MSc in EU Studies)
      • European Common Foreign & Security Policy (MSc in EU Studies)
      • Internship
    • Course Schedule 2015-2016
  • Staff
    • Professorial staff >
      • Gert Buelens
      • Philippe Codde
      • John Dick
      • Ken Kennard
      • Rob Kroes
      • Isabelle Meuret
      • David Woolner
  • Housing etc.
  • APPLY
    • Overview
    • Admission requirements
    • Request an application form
    • Additional application materials
    • Submit your complete application
  • FAQ
  • Testimony
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Blog

Domestic Intervention

19/11/2013

7 Comments

 

Romance, then Dallas...

The impending fiftieth anniversary of 'Jack' Kennedy's shooting has triggered the usual array of articles, second hand accounts and fading personal reflections in an attempt to shed some further light onto and into a very murky period of American History. For many the early 1960's represented an opportunity to move from the set piece conservatism that had been heavily laced in the cold war world of fixed assumptions and predetermined realism to a space that offered a chance for the younger generation not only to shine but have a genuine voice in the way US society was going. Whether the subject be sex, civil rights, war or want this youthful America now had a champion - Kennedy the boy wonder - embodied this idealistic but imaginative and innovative alternative.  

So, what was cut short, what was turned off in Dallas on that November day was not just a man's life but an association of ideas that had inculcated themselves via the  image, political rhetoric and timing of a political figure that had not been formed in the Victorian age but informed in the American Age.  What makes this tragedy even more deplorable is that we still have little real idea as to who shot these ideas to pieces. Moreover, the political elite decided in their worldly wisdom that they would not subject their citizens to the truth or truths but to obfuscation and then institutional ennui.  The official conclusion -the Warren Commission - that it was one man acting alone seems so unlikely that even the United States Select Committee concluded in 1978 that Kennedy was probably a victim of a conspiracy. Yet the truth or the most likely truth remains locked up inside the 1100 hundred odd CIA documents that are due to be released in 2017. But, do not hold your breath, these files are closed on national security grounds. In other words, the 'security services' will ultimately decide whether it is safe or not for us to know who really de-constructed Camelot. What this distrust and distaste of the people by the 'inner government' has helped produce over many years is that youth filled dreams have been replaced by a cynical and often corrosive view of government and power. In other words, this unwillingness to share this moment of despair with the rest of the nation instantly erased the very space where you could close one eye and briefly see a fairer and more equitable society.   

Some will ask, does it really matter who killed JFK after all these years? Well the obvious first response is yes otherwise they would have let us see all the evidence and all the files. How can a man who died fifty years ago still carry a true threat to national security? There are largely two ways to keep the majority of people, the majority of time away from the truth, you either tell them nothing or tell them so much they cannot see the wood from the trees. In today's technological world it is the later, in the 1960's it was the former Moreover, if you also wish to shield the average citizen from the truths that lay behind the use and abuse of power what you can do in conjunction with telling too much or too little is make sure that period of time that elapses while your disclosing or not the 'facts' is sufficient for people to lose the will to care. Does anyone really care that Kennedy was removed because he spoke, he represented in his own very flawed human form an alternative to the cold, grey vista of realism, rationality and the national security state. Kennedy, Camelot emitted a fleeting romantic glimpse of how the world could be if only we could slay the dragons and not allow the dragons to slay us. Chillingly, as one Russian dissident recently observed having spent much of his younger life in a Siberian Gulag, 'In my country at least I know who my enemies are... you have no idea'. We still don't.       



         
7 Comments
Dimitri
19/11/2013 04:38:42 pm

Makes we wonder: what about Robert Kennedy? I realize how much of a shock - a paradigm shift? - JFK's assassination must have been; but to some extent, his legacy could be carried on by his brother(s). Bobby, too, embodied this new idealistic, progressive America. Would he have stood a fair chance at the 1968 election (during which he, too, was unfortunately assassinated)? Too which extent could he have revived the positivism surrounding his deceased brother? I reckon that RFK's murder extinguished the last bit of hope that the Kennedy brothers had inspired in America.

Reply
Valérie
25/11/2013 06:00:06 am

With the assassination’s 50th anniversary being all over the news, I’ve been reading some interesting articles on JFK’s murder. I still find it striking how the Kennedy’s were almost seen as a royal family - which is quite understandable when taking into account their charisma (nicely portrayed in Ted Kennedy’s biography, by the way). In a way, the enthusiasm he aroused reminds me a bit of Obama’s first election. Both gave people hope that they would bring about change, yet -from what I’ve read- neither of them fully fulfilled what they had promised (for example in Kennedy’s case, it was Johnson who managed to take action on civil rights, whereas Kennedy seemed rather slow in pushing this forward).

Nevertheless, I find it still very odd that information of JFK’s assassination has not yet been released. Since I’ve been writing a paper that deals with the impact of a possible societal change on the established elites, I think that in this case it is certainly possible that the prospect of a change of the status quo could have scared people into resorting to whatever they could to prevent this. Yet, I read that there now is a renewed push to shake loose the classified materials that could shed a light on JFK’s murder. If there indeed has been any federal involvement in his assassination, I guess it is in the government’s best interest not to release any of these files since this undoubtedly would disastrously backfire on them. Or to put it in his own words: ‘A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people’.

Reply
Aleksandra
25/11/2013 06:12:48 am

I can't help but admire the unique personality of JFK and even more the evolutionary and fresh image he represented in US. He was a young, innovative president, some would say a visionary who came in the right moment, the dynamic times of the 60s, and who, with his innovative ideas inspired people and led them to believe in "the better future". It was his personality, his new, alternative ideas that captured the hearts of many people and managed to convey a vision, ideology, different from those surrounding him.

It was his rhetorical power that left a long-lasting mark. He believed in the common bonds that bind all of us, different nations, people, and he realized that together, collectively, we all could work more effectively towards peace, goodness, success and prosperity. Some parts of his speech I find striking are “Genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living ...” and “In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal”.

However, apparently, not everybody liked these ideas, or better said, some were threatened by them. In the end, we are still left with the question of - who did it. I have read a number of conspiracy theories we are all familiar with. Today I listened to an interview with two journalists present on the day of JFK's assassination. All the stories are about the same. As Professor Kennard said, does it matter today? I agree, it absolutely does. It wouldn't be kept concealed if there still aren't some kinds of connections/conspiricies or whatever related to this. However, this we may never find out. Therefore, the "de-construction of Camelot" might never happen.

The whole situation is perfectly explained in the quote included 'In my country at least I know who my enemies are... you have no idea'. I couldn't agree more on this.

One more thing, Oliver Stone directed the movie JFK investigating Kennedy's assassination and events leading to it. Although it is criticized for its controversy and "Stone's taking liberty with historical facts" it is quite an interesting movie and might provide viewers with different perspective and evoke some deeper thinking on the subject. I surely recommend it.

Reply
agario link
2/6/2022 02:30:47 pm

flawed human form an alternative to the cold, grey vista of realism, rationality and the national security state. Kennedy, Camelot emitted a fleeting romantic glimpse of how the world could be if only we could slay the dragons and not all

Reply
metin2 pvp serverler link
4/6/2022 11:45:04 am

Boston agar.io private server game, agario unblocked at school server agario boston game

Reply
Sasha Blackwell link
1/7/2022 04:45:14 am

Nice post thanks foor sharing

Reply
Agar.io link
9/10/2022 12:35:48 pm

I really love your post, it is quite intersting and colourful at the same time, everythiing is so unique and I know that because I checked the information.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Dr J Ken Kennard Professor of Politics and History - Master Program in American Studies - Universiteit Gent

    Archives

    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.