Even though it may have been far from the path around the Falls, the vast majority of the Boomer Generation can tell you exactly where they were 50 years ago this Friday. It was a Friday afternoon, and most were in class. They might remember the class, the room and maybe where they were positioned in the room when they got the word that President Kennedy had been shot.
Instruction ground to a halt. Some teachers tuned in the classroom radio to the constant flow of news bulletins. Other classes gathered around television sets in assembly rooms. Some schools dismissed early. Prayers were recited in public school classrooms, and no one raised any fuss about that. Across the nation it felt like the life was sucked out of hearts young and old. The nation felt that a good portion of its innocence was wretched away.
Because it happened on a Friday afternoon, there was a weekend for some of the shock to wear off and the impact to settle in. The funeral came on Monday. Some schools closed for the day, and in those that were open, again there were student gatherings around television sets to watch the historic pageantry of laying that leader to rest.
Because of the timing, school and the event itself are forever connected for that generation. Teachers instantly became counselors as grief-stricken students sought answers. Even if they might have had them in that day and age, there never would have been enough crisis teams to go around.
For many, the incident prompted a commitment to public service. In 1961Kennedy signed the law establishing the Peace Corps. Many joined as a tribute to his memory. “Doing for others” became a popular and a lifelong philosophy for many young people who learned of the event while they were in a classroom.
Kennedy inspired us to ramp up science instruction with his words, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” The nation was committed to the space race, partially in response to the fact that the Russians had put the first man in space. A proud nation could not stand by and let that happen.
The Kennedy Space Center name pays tribute to the man who got the nation moving on that climb to the moon. JFK Airport has been the starting point for millions of people who fly high into the sky, even if not quite to the moon, another fitting tribute.
As far as we know, there never was a Kennedy school prior to that fateful day in November. Today, it has to be one of the most popular names for schools built during the last half century. Walking into many of those schools, one can see a portrait of that president hung prominently on the wall.
Perhaps the most famous line came at the end of his inaugural speech on a cold January morning in 1961. “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” If ever there was an inspirational line for a generation of young people, this was it.
This week there will be documentary after documentary about JFK. There remains controversy about his presidency and conspiracy theorists who can’t be satisfied with the official findings about the incident. In spite of these issues, the Kennedy legacy guided a nation for half a century.
Today, idealism in some political haunts is somewhat in short supply. Perhaps reflection on what he brought to the nation would be good therapy for those who now walk the halls of Congress and other venues where decisions are made.
If there were messages to tell our children about those times, it would be about how inspiration can move mountains and carry us to the moon. The 50th anniversary of that tragic event provides a good opportunity to share those stories.
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