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Compare JFK in Berlin to Bush visit to Great Britain
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
By Hugh Conrad
Conservatives and Republicans have endured some trying times in late November, 2003. What became obvious with all of the publicity of the 40th anniversary of JFK's assassination is a clear contrast of the idealism of the 35th president of the United States, to the current philosophical bankruptcy of the current resident of the White House.
George W. Bush could not venture out among the citizens of London when he traveled to Great Britain -- our staunch ally -- for a state visit. Contrast that to President John F. Kennedy's speech in front of more than 100,000 Berliners in front of the Berlin Wall on June 26, 1963. "Ich bin ein Berliner," he said, echoing the belief that he, too, was one of the Berlin citizens who were fighting against Communism.
Kennedy appealed to the positive part of human nature, beginning with his espousal of the Peace Corps and ultimately moving to his courageous stance against Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett, who refused to allow James Meredith to enter the University of Mississippi in 1962.
The call of the 35th president to public service remains the most quoted part of any inaugural address in American history: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
However, what JFK invoked in his presidency was a continuation of the Democratic legacy of the 20th Century. From Woodrow Wilson's quest for the League of Nations, to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, to Harry Truman's Marshall Plan, the Democrats appealed to the noblest aspects of human beings, instead of the fear that has been propagated by the Republicans and conservatives in the past 50 years.
JFK's death led to Lyndon Baines Johnson, a Southern Democrat, pushing through legislation for Civil Rights and Medicare, which were part of his Great Society.
While revisionist conservatives attempt to depict Ronald Reagan as the person who brought down Communism, the truth is that the fall of the Berlin Wall was a victory for Democracy, not for any one person. In fact, the president who actually did start the collapse of Communism was JFK, and this historical fact rankles all contemporary Republicans.
Yes, it was John Fitzgerald Kennedy who brought the Soviet Union to its knees in October, 1962, by standing up to Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev in the Cuban Missile Crisis. While the Republicans claim to be tough on national security, I challenge that party to identify one policy or action that led to the fall of Communism. Reagan spent billions on defense in the 1980s, but the Soviet Union did not fall because of a policy. It fell because of the intestinal fortitude of the 35th president of the U.S., one who brought Americans together as he stood strong against Communism in 1962.
In fact, the Kennedy clips that I viewed this week make me proud as an American to follow the idealism that was instilled in me by JFK. A child of Republican parents who voted for Richard Nixon, I became a Kennedy follower, and despite his flaws -- and I have read of his peccadilloes -- I still remain one who believes in the values espoused by the 35th president.
The Democrats must appeal to those noble virtues in 2004 and remove a president who cannot even speak in front of an audience of Americans today -- much less to any other country in the world -- because of the animus that he brings to the table. The Democratic Party is one that has demonstrated its success in the past century. JFK is a symbol of that success that will not die, and we must build upon it to achieve success in 2004.
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY |
