Culture Wars. Democracy In Crisis. Hate Speech. Impending Doom. Irreconcilable Differences. Polarization. These negative terms and many others like them are the constant refrain of the egotistical, self-serving talking heads of the news media and social media, along with hypocritical and self-righteous religious leaders. They seem to take perverse delight in expounding on everything that is wrong with society, furthering the divisions between “liberals” vs. “conservatives”, the “left” vs. the “right”, Republicans against Democrats.
Moderate voices regarding contentious political and social issues are rarely if ever heard. The main reason is that moderate, balanced viewpoints have long since been drowned out by the shrill cacophony of accusations, blame and recriminations that the above mentioned hurl back and forth on a daily basis regarding everything from abortion to mask mandates.
For those who don’t like being sucked into the fray (the moderate middle) there is the nagging suspicion that these so-called culture wars are stoked by special interest groups on both sides of the ideological divide for self-glorification and financial benefit. Conspiracy theories such as QAnon and radical fringe groups from Antifa on the left to The Proud Boys on the right are an extension of these cultural upheavals that run rampant throughout the political spectrum, further dividing friends and families across the nation to benefit varying agendas.
Pessimistic religious groups of the Jehovah’s Witness, Seventh Day Advent and evangelical ilk continuously prattle on about how dreadful and wicked our present era is – and that tribulation and armageddon are just around the next corner. These self-appointed prophets seem to be hooked on the mindset that our world (and the United States in particular) has never been in worse shape and is on the precipice of oblivion – that these are “the end times.” These overwrought proclamations are exactly why it’s so important to keep some perspective on the political and societal turmoil that does exist.
Four Days: The Historical Record Of The Death Of President Kennedy is an invaluable record of this earlier period in our history where prominent voices in the media, politics and religious leaders had once again expressed seeming astonishment about the so-called forces of moral decay eating away at our nation and the intensifying forces of hate causing the disintegration of our society.
Nearly six decades ago when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 there was also a deluge of rhetoric claiming that our society was living in the worst of times, that our nation was going to hell in a hand basket and that annihilation of the planet was imminent. The United States was experiencing a very distressing period of social upheaval and hateful divisions. Nearly a century after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, the battles for racial equality and civil rights for African-Americans was reaching a fever pitch.
Among other major controversies during the 1960s were the Cold War era tensions between the United States and its allies against Soviet Russia and its allies which had recently come to their most dangerous point with the Cuban Missile Crisis late in 1962. Never before or since, had the world come so close to “Nuclear Midnight” – the very real possibility of an all out nuclear war obliterating all life on our planet. Within three short years the Vietnam War would also become one of the most destructive, divisive issues in our history, launching a tidal wave of protests and riots unlike anything the United States had ever previously experienced on the home front.
With all this said, there is also no doubt that the killing of President Kennedy was one of the most tragic events in our history, and was a turning point that quickly led to social revolution. However, the point is that the United States survived this period of tremendous turmoil and in many ways became a better nation for it! We have surmounted many tragic events since (the 9/11 terror attacks among the more recent tragedies) throughout our 245 year history – and we are such a young nation compared to many others.
In any event, I wanted to include some of the statements made by prominent statesmen, newspaper editorials, and others from Four Days in the wake of President Kennedy’s murder that express how similar the past is to our present. H.D. Quigg, a noted journalist of United Press International stated – and this is a direct quote: “Hate knows no political loyalty and is as dead and as vicious in the heart and mind of liberals and those to the far left as those to the far right alike…”
These words are just as applicable now as they were in 1963 as politics at all levels was and always will be highly contentious and prickly. Along that thread, Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States from 1953-1969 gave one of the eulogies at Kennedy’s funeral and stated in part: “Surely there is a lesson to be learned from this tragic event. If we really love this country, if we truly love justice and mercy, if we fervently want to make this nation better for those who are to follow us, we can at least abjure the hatred that consumes people, the false accusations that divide us, and the bitterness that begets violence.” To paraphrase, Warren also continued: that while going so far as to assassinate someone is repulsive to most people, they think nothing of spreading the “venom” that would plant the seed to commit such violence among others.
Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana also gave an eulogy at Kennedy’s funeral and stated in part: “…that we might give to one another until there would be no room, no room at all, for the bigotry, the hatred, prejudice and the arrogance which converged in that moment of horror to strike him down.” Also in response to the Kennedy assassination the St. Louis Post–Dispatch stated in part: “The martyred President becomes a symbol of warning. Our Democracy is reminded that the very fabric of popular self-government depends upon a universal faith in reason and moderation, in patient accommodation of conflicting views and interests, in the democratic processes of conciliation.”
In conclusion, Four Days: The Historical Record Of The Death Of President Kennedy is a great read in the sense of trying to keep a balanced perspective and realize that the current era isn’t necessarily “worse”, more bigoted, hateful or violent than any time in the past. We only hear about it more because the media is ever present in ways not available before. We hold it in our hands every day, clicking on it, scrolling through it, tapping on the next link… How we sort through all the rhetoric, process it, and allow it to affect us is an individual choice. What we put out to the world, especially through social media – which was unknown in 1963 is also a personal choice for good or ill.
