John Fitzgerald Kennedy
- Thread starter Dreadsox
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Harry Vest
Refugee
I don't know exactly of a quote or even a program - all I know is that I was three years old when John F. Kennedy was killed. I was on the way to the corner drugstore with my Mom (as we did most days) and when we arrived there was a guy selling newspapers "Extra Extra" and there were men and women crying. I can actually remember this moment - in fact it is my very first memory other than when my baby sister was born about a year earlier. To this day I can see all the people in front of the drugstore - all in long winter coats and fedora's (very 50's looking - actually the 50's did end that day...and what was to become known as the "60's" began). It was a very strange moment in time - much like September 11, 2001. I often wonder what would have happened if he were not killed.
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.
sulawesigirl4
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
I'm going to state the obvious and say Peace Corps. I can't tell you how many Africans I met during my service that spoke reverently of Kennedy. He still serves as a goodwill ambassador for the USA after all these years.
sulawesigirl4
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Aww, now you're making me blush. 
To be quite honest, it felt less like a sacrifice than you might think. I think I got the most out of the experience...much more than I gave. Wouldn't trade those years of my life for anything.
To be quite honest, it felt less like a sacrifice than you might think. I think I got the most out of the experience...much more than I gave. Wouldn't trade those years of my life for anything.
AEON
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Growing up Catholic - I just about worshipped JFK.
While it may not be a program or initiative - but his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis was a work of genious (and good ol Irish luck).
I also loved his Profiles in Courage books.
While it may not be a program or initiative - but his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis was a work of genious (and good ol Irish luck).
I also loved his Profiles in Courage books.
INDY500
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Me too and it's also my earliest memory.
I walked through Daley Plaza on this night in 1983, the 20th anniversary. I was expecting it to be somber but not quiet. Not in Dallas. But it was, with little traffic on the streets and the few people milling about weren't talking. They were too busy remembering.
I hope we'll always remember.
BonosSaint
Rock n' Roll Doggie
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2004
- Messages
- 3,566
Peace Corps. Space program.
A_Wanderer
ONE love, blood, life
U2DMfan
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I'm an idealist without illusions.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
^ that's very nicely said, and a wonderful distinction
We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.
John F. Kennedy, October 26, 1963
I would say the Alliance for Progress is the program that most interested me in college. In contratst to the dealings with the nations South of the border after the Kennedy administration, I would say it was America's best shot at making friends with Central and South America through a peace corps kind of diplomacy, verses the Diplomacy of the Nixon/Reagan years.
I would also say that I am not a fan of the way he handled the solution to the Bay of Pigs. I thought the blockade was brilliant. The back door deal he cut with the Russians, and withheld from the American people was wrong, only because he did not want it public because it would have hurt his reelection chances.
The Space program was probably one of the best things to happen in the name of science here in the US. I admire him for that.
Bobby does not get enough credit for the way Civil Rights went down. He was at times, running the show I think. IN my studies I felt that John was always the politician, thinking about gaining power, and keeping it. While Bobby was more the conscience of the administration, looking to change the world. I think Bobby is the more interesting of the two, because he was so many things at different points in his political evolution. Early on the brash conservative anti communist, the anti mob lawyer......to the champion of Civil Rights. Seeing him speak about Martin Luther King's death, rips at my soul when I see it.
John F. Kennedy, October 26, 1963
I would say the Alliance for Progress is the program that most interested me in college. In contratst to the dealings with the nations South of the border after the Kennedy administration, I would say it was America's best shot at making friends with Central and South America through a peace corps kind of diplomacy, verses the Diplomacy of the Nixon/Reagan years.
I would also say that I am not a fan of the way he handled the solution to the Bay of Pigs. I thought the blockade was brilliant. The back door deal he cut with the Russians, and withheld from the American people was wrong, only because he did not want it public because it would have hurt his reelection chances.
The Space program was probably one of the best things to happen in the name of science here in the US. I admire him for that.
Bobby does not get enough credit for the way Civil Rights went down. He was at times, running the show I think. IN my studies I felt that John was always the politician, thinking about gaining power, and keeping it. While Bobby was more the conscience of the administration, looking to change the world. I think Bobby is the more interesting of the two, because he was so many things at different points in his political evolution. Early on the brash conservative anti communist, the anti mob lawyer......to the champion of Civil Rights. Seeing him speak about Martin Luther King's death, rips at my soul when I see it.
I've always preferred RFK because I felt he was the heart and soul of the duo. And because when he spoke, there was the feeling that he really believed what he was saying and further than that, he really believed that his fight was the right fight.
I have always preferred the gentle intensity of RFK to the more polished facade of JFK. The speech on the day of the MLK assassination is a good example. The Cape Town speech (a tiny ripple of hope) is another.
Oh, and what A_wanderer said. We could probably argue ad nauseum whether that promise was kept but it's still a nice sentiment.
Oh, and what A_wanderer said. We could probably argue ad nauseum whether that promise was kept but it's still a nice sentiment.
BonosSaint
Rock n' Roll Doggie
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2004
- Messages
- 3,566
Hi, Silja. Glad you're back. Hi, it's good to be back.I've actually lurked but I haven't wanted to post for fear of pissing someone off because of my horrible mood lately (a longer explanation can be found in the current incarnation of the religions thread but I can't be arsed to type it all again).
intedomine
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
JFK was cool and all, but it is RFK who really appeals to me...he wouldve been the best president since FDR....
verte76
Blue Crack Addict
I need to read more about the Kennedys. Any book recommendations?
U2democrat
Blue Crack Addict
anitram said:
Amen.
Anyone who knows my AIM screenname knows how I love RFK
But to pick a single quote or program from JFK...I don't think I could do that. I admire his ability to mobilize and inspire the youth/younger generations of America (same can be said for RFK). There's hardly been a politician since who made people my age feel so optimistic about the future.
verte76 said:
Anything by Aurther Schlesinger...He wrote two great biographies on John and Robert and A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. These books would be good places to start.
A more recent book, which was a pretty good read...
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek
U2democrat
Blue Crack Addict
Dreadsox said:
Schlesinger is excellent, I've been reading his RFK bio for awhile now (when I have time to read leisurely). However its loaded with details, and details of details.
I've heard An Unfinished Life is really good as well.
One of my favorite RFK bios is Robert Kennedy: A Memoir by Jack Newfield. It mostly focuses on the last 4 years of RFK's life, and the end will just about tear you to pieces. Lots of good writing in it.
Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening. Because...
I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
(Interrupted by applause)
So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.
(Interrupted by applause)
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Robert F. Kennedy - April 4, 1968
I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
(Interrupted by applause)
So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.
(Interrupted by applause)
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Robert F. Kennedy - April 4, 1968
U2democrat
Blue Crack Addict
That's one of, if not his best ever speeches Dread.
Here's video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPYNb4ex6Ko
That's a tough one...they were both very VERY hot. Since I haven't seen Mikkelsen in tiny swimtrunks (or nude for that matter) my vote goes to Craig 
Here's video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPYNb4ex6Ko
silja said:
Oh, and U2democrat, who’s sexier: Craig or Mikkelsen?
That's a tough one...they were both very VERY hot. Since I haven't seen Mikkelsen in tiny swimtrunks (or nude for that matter) my vote goes to Craig Similar threads
