As we approach Friday’s 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, an act that remains as shocking and sad today as it was back then, Americans are actively sharing our memories of the Kennedy administration’s idealism and glamour.
But, let’s be real.
Camelot it was not.
In 1960, more than 20 percent of this entire country was living in poverty. Crime rates were on the rise. Civil unrest was rampant, with riots on college campuses and city streets.
On the campus of Ole Miss in 1962, two people were killed after rioting erupted in protest over James Meredith’s enrollment there.
This nation was fully engaged in a global arms race as we continued a dangerous Cold War with Russia.
The fight against communism was underway and, just months in office, Kennedy authorized the Eisenhower-designed invasion of Cuba by CIA-trained Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro, an operation that came to be known as the — botched — Bay of Pigs Invasion.
By November 1963, under Kennedy’s authorization, our participation in the Vietnam conflict was accelerating, and it would take 10 years and more than 58,000 American lives before we broke away. As of last May, 1,647 solders were still unaccounted for.
And, across the pond the Berlin Wall was under construction to isolate East from West Germany, a consequence of the Berlin Crisis in 1961.
And, yet, the Camelot moniker of that era persists.
After Kennedy’s death, the public learned that one of his favorite pre-bedtime rituals was listening to a recording of the original Broadway version of Camelot. In particular, he favored the final reprise in which Britain’s legendary King Arthur — played by the dashing Richard Burton — knights a boy he encounters along the road and urges him to tell others of the story of Camelot, to spread the word of what had been, for one brief, shining moment, a perfect kingdom.
And why not spread the word?
Camelot is the music and dance tale of a king, encouraged by his wife Guinevere — played by the lovely and talented Julie Andrews — to establish the virtuous Knights of the Round Table, an organization that went on to defeat the Saxon invasion and helped establish rule over Britain, Ireland, Norway and Gaul. That’s quite an empire.
An empire where, as the song goes, there was a legal limit to the snowfall and it was never too hot in July and August.
It was also an empire in which Guinevere strayed from her husband into the arms of the irresistible Lancelot, launching a civil war
And let’s not forget that King Arthur’s shining empire was established through the brutal hand-to-hand sword-to-bone combat of the time.
So, even the fictional perfection of Camelot wasn’t exactly Camelot.
Nor was Kennedy’s administration, but it certainly strived in that direction.
Kennedy was one of this nation’s greatest leaders, and he remains — rightfully — much-loved by Americans.
His leadership during the tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis was exemplary, even though the public was unaware until the threat had passed.
Kennedy established the Peace Corps and spurred Americans to think about public service and what we could do to serve this country and the rest of humankind. He piloted the food stamps program to ensure the truly needy have access to food. He fought for civil equality and he proposed and then heavily backed the first successful manned mission into space.
In October 1963 he signed the Partial Test Ban Treaty, limiting the testing of nuclear weapons, and at the time of his death he was pushing his advisors to get working on what would eventually result in a series of federal anti-poverty programs later introduced by President Lyndon Johnson.
He brought charisma, youth and passion to a job at a time when this nation needed to be lifted into action, inspiring a sense of hope for our future and changing this nation for the better.
That’s the legend of Kennedy, but let’s not call it Camelot.
Camelot was make-believe happiness in a make-believe land.
Kennedy, his passion for equality, his faults, his accomplishments, his love for this nation and his legacy of public service are as real as it gets.
jmeyer@sunjournal.com
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