In the life of this great nation, a few of its presidents have stood out from the pack as truly historic and memorable even more than others. Of course, presidents from the founding fathers' generation certainly fit the bill, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. And presidents who have served the country in times of great crisis are also deeply revered. But there is probably no other president in recent memory who inspires such emotions of respect and admiration as John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy seemed to capture the hearts of the American people in a way unmatched by any president before or since. In part, it may have been the era in history the country was in when he became president of the United States. The historical period between 1950 and 1970 was the time when the largest generation of youth, now known as the "baby boomers", came of age. With them, the new youth movement brought a sense of optimism, a "can do" attitude and to some extent a sense of revolution. They were looking for new ways of seeing things, a new vision for the future, and new leadership, and John F. Kennedy was the perfect man of the day to provide that leadership.
So much about the Kennedy presidency has an aura of romance and almost fairy-tale excitement. From naming his family estates "Camelot" to the public love affair with the strikingly beautiful presidential couple Jack and Jacqueline Kennedy. This touch of magic extended to everything he did and to virtually everyone in his family, including his younger brother Robert, who was also adored and almost certainly would have served as president had he not been tragically assassinated during his early run for the office.
But that doesn't mean Kennedy wasn't a phenomenal leader. He faced serious challenges. The Cuban Missile Crisis may have been one of the most terrifying fallout between nuclear Russia and nuclear America ever to happen in history. When it became clear that Russia was starting to build bases in Cuba and arm them with those terrible weapons, this was no time for a weak president. If Russia had been able to bully Kennedy or intimidate the young president into placing those missiles in Cuba, it seems certain that the outcome of the Cold War would have been failure rather than success. But Kennedy was not bullied or intimidated, and using the power of his office, Kennedy stood up and stood up for all Americans and forced the Russians to remove those missiles.
But that was not the only major achievement of the Kennedy administration. It took a leader with great vision and the ability to inspire a nation as none other than John F. Kennedy could to set his sights on the moon landing. But Kennedy put that desire and that high calling into the hearts of his people, and the nation gathered to finally see a man step on the moon and declare, "That's one step for man, one giant leap for mankind." It was one of the proudest days in American history and it was Kennedy who inspired us to such greatness.
Just as John F. Kennedy's life and leadership perfectly illustrated the optimism and youthful fervor of an entire generation, his tragic mission changed the country forever. On that sad day on November 22, 1963, when Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed America's beloved president, the hearts of Americans were forever changed.
It was one of those days when almost everyone who was alive at the time, from school children to grandfathers, remembered where they were when they heard the news. Since we laid this great leader to rest, the presidency itself has never been the same. While Americans will always respect their presidents, that feeling of idolizing the man in the White House is gone forever. But what didn't go away was the continued adoration of the man, John F. Kennedy, who inspired a generation and a nation to look forward to greatness and in the famous words of his inaugural address in 1961…
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
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