Friday, November 22, 2013

November 22, Kennedy & other ghosts

There might be a few in the United States and around the world who actually need words to explain the events which were unfolding when this photograph was taken in the early afternoon of November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. At least, I would hope there are not many adults who do not recognize the event about to take place: The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the U.S. The photograph comes from the Bettmann/Corbis Archive. The music today is almost cliché to this national tragedy, but seems appropriate, and a second video offers a glimpse of JFK's manner and style during press conferences.

So, here we are .... is it time yet?

Yes, I know. President of the United States John F. Kennedy was murdered on this day fifty years ago.

Like many Americans and, I suppose, many in countries around the world, I have my thoughts and beliefs and opinions and ideas about the who, what, why and how of this notation in the history of mankind. Where and when are established facts.

I will not write anything lengthy on this anniversary, but I will go on record saying that I do not believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. This is not because, as some claim, there is no way he could have fired three times in six seconds with a bolt action rifle and scored the hits he did at the range he did at a moving target. I can do it and, if I can, others can, as well. It is from a combination of many reasons that I have the beliefs I do.

A year ago, I wrote a post in which I admitted that I literally had passed over November 22 without recalling it was the anniversary of Kennedy's death, and that much of America was guilty of the same sin of omission or forgetfulness. I suppose a fiftieth anniversary is sort of a "magic number" and easier for the media to remember, because there has been story after story in the news about it for at least the past week.

I suppose what I wrote in my post on November 27, 2012, largely applies this to year, as well, so there is no use dwelling on this event or repeating pretty much what I wrote last year. So, read my last year's commentary, if you are the curious type.

However, I will note that certain "facts" related to the Kennedy murder which were not released in 1963 when it happened were to be given to the public fifty years after his death. That is what was promised to the American people by the American government back then.

So, here we are, fifty years later. Is it time yet? Honor the promise. Tell me those facts which were kept secret at the time of JFK's assassination.

Tell me.

.... Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.


Macbeth / Act 5, Scene 5
William Shakespeare

Look around you

We all live with ghosts.

Let me rephrase that. At some point in our lives, most of us begin to live with ghosts. I suppose it is related to conscience and sanity. There are people we have known who have died -- family and friends -- maybe, a few enemies, too. There are loves we have won and lost and betrayed. There are people we have mistreated or, simply, not treated fairly.

If you do not have people and situations such as these in your life, you either are very young or do not have a conscience. And, do you realize that point? That there actually are people who do not have a conscience? At this junction, if we were to acknowledge it, we would wander off into a discussion about the concepts of good and evil. But, we will not do that this evening.

I think I live with too many ghosts, and I need some way to forget them. Well, I mean, to push them into the background for a few more years. Until I am ready to confront them or to join them.

The ghost of Caesar hath appear'd to me ....

Julius Caesar / Act 5, Scene 5
William Shakespeare




10 comments:

Smareis said...

Oi Fram,
Uma imagem bem nítida pela época do acontecimento.
50 anos da morte de Kennedy. Quanto tempo!
Nem sabia aqui não li nada a respeito, geralmente os jornais sempre comentam, e anuncia data de pessoas publicas e famosas do EUA.
São tantas tragédias que não há como explicar nesse universo, e irá continuar sem explicação, Principalmente a forma que o atirador descarregou o rifle no Presidente. Pelo que leio e entendo você é um bom atirador, entende de rifles. Eu não entendo nada de armas, tenho medo até delas kkkk.
Eu também tenho andado com alguns fantasmas, preciso me livrar urgentemente deles enterrar pra sempre.
Adorei a postagem, escreveste com muita inteligência e sabedoria os detalhes.
Deixo um abraço e desejo de um ótimo fim de semana!

Fram Actual said...

To spend just a moment with JFK, I doubt the entire story of his death will ever be known. He and one of his younger brothers, Robert, who served as his Attorney General, were at the center of many momentous events in foreign affairs and many significant legal and political actions in a domestic sense. They made many enemies, some of those enemies very dangerous men.

For a while, I read every document and book I could about the assassination, and I have met men who were involved in some of the misadventures which were taking place during those times. The only thing I know for certain is that some men actually are capable of going to their graves without revealing secrets they know.

As for guns, I think of them as tools. They can be used for good or for bad, and that is up the individuals who use them. Basically, I approve of firearms because they make the weak strong, and they can keep a man or a woman safe if only he or she devotes the time to learn how to use them properly. When you come to know guns, you lose your fear of them.

Some ghosts stay back, in the distance, content with their fate. Others follow you wherever you go, sit in chairs next to you, watch you while you are at your computer, never allow you to forget they are with you. I am beginning to feel like there are too many of them in my life and they are beginning to close in on me. It will be an interesting winter for me with my ghosts. For you, Smareis, I hope you are able to bury those ghosts which follow you, and are able to do it quickly and forever.

Thank you, for being here, Smareis.

Dzjiedzjee said...

What can I say? It's still a great tragedy. What would've happened if he had finished his job...?

Warm greetings from the Netherlands,
dzjiedzjee.blogspot.com

A Cuban In London said...

The president of the richest and most powerful country on earth is killed. They then apprehend the culprit and he is killed, too.

Of course, you cannot believe this chain of events. Of course, Oswald was just the tool (a replaceable one as it turned out). I don't think the truth will ever out because there were at the time and there are still too many vested interests in keeping things as they are.

Great post. Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

Every day there are events which change the destiny of countless individuals -- automobile accidents end young lives, a mechanical failure in an aircraft sends it spinning to the earth and destroys the dreams of any number of families, a religious zealot detonates a bomb strapped to his chest and innocent lives are vaporized.

But, it is unique in history when a senseless act of destruction affects the entire flow of world events. The assassination of JFK was one of those unique events.

It is fascinating to speculate how the United States and the world would be different places today had JFK lived and, very probably, been a two-term president.

Well, we can only wonder and imagine, Gert Jan. Thank you, for coming to visit my page.

Fram Actual said...

Just as it is fascinating to speculate how the United States and the world would be different places today had JFK lived, so, too, is it fascinating to examine all the twists, turns and characters involved in assassination theories, and then to speculate which have credibility and possibility.

At the risk of being laughed at, I think Oliver Stone might have been closer to the actual circumstances of the event in his film, "JFK," than most people realize.

It has been a number of years since I stopped reading everything I could find about the murder, so my own viewpoint, undoubtedly, would be considered antiquated. And, the last person I knew who might have had some answers died a few years ago and, in my opinion, took his secrets with him. The son of this individual completely denies his father had any involvement or direct knowledge of the assassination, and sent me an email last year repeating that belief. I knew the individual, but not the son, although I can understand the son's position.

There were supposed to be "facts" kept secret at the time of JFK's death released fifty years after the event, but I have heard nothing in the media about it.

So, here we are, CiL, as you said, in a place and a time and a position where the truth likely will never be known.

Thank you, for coming by to visit and for writing your thoughts about the matter.

Anita said...

Hi Fram!I do totally agree with a Cuban in Londons comments-

The Kennydies family, all of them, was into bad bad luck..from the start to the end..

Thank you for this post and keep the good work on :)

Greetings Norway!

Fram Actual said...

The Kennedy family is interesting, complex and, I might add, has sort of a warped history, Anita.

In terms of good luck, bad luck or just plain cursed, an Old Testament biblical believer might theorize that the fate of the Kennedys is a fine example of the sins of the fathers being visited upon their children and their children's children onto the third and fourth generations. I suppose non-biblical others might associate it with family karma.

In any case, the patriarch, Joseph, committed more than his share of sins and a wide variety of them. You might find the family to be interesting reading.

I am glad you dropped by to visit and to greet me, Anita.

Anita said...

Yes i have read all about it.Fram..a long time ago!The bad things go further on..think about Jackie and Onassis..and the tragidy they caused to Maria Callas.and not to forget Marelyn Monroe...there is soo much ..you can really say its the sins of the fathers if one belive in such things..Or simply rich people hiding their interest so they can go on and on and on..


Fram Actual said...

I was thinking more in terms of direct-line descendants of Joseph, like his son and JFK's brother, Joe, Jr., killed in World War II; his son and JFK's brother, Robert, assassinated while he was a presidential candidate; his daughter and JFK's sister, Rose Marie, who spent most of her adult life institutionalized; his son and JFK's brother, "Teddy," who should have done serious jail time in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne; and JFK's own son, John, Jr., who was killed along with his wife in an airplane crash, as well as two other of JFK's children who died as infants.

But, I see your point, too, Anita. The destiny of the Kennedy clan created much turmoil and "bad luck" in the lives of others they touched. I suppose the incident involving "Teddy" would fall more under that category, too. A young woman died in an accident he was largely responsible for and for which he largely escaped punishment.

It is fascinating stuff .... much like a Shakespearean play.

Something special ....