University of Virginia Library

J.F.K.

Seven years ago Sunday, John Fitzgerald
Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas.
Most of us were very young and at that
formative stage in life when events can make
deep and lasting impressions. It would be hard
to name an event that more deeply scarred
this country than the assassination of John
Kennedy.

He was a hero to a generation of young
people. True, Kennedy was responsible for
much of our involvement in Vietnam, but his
achievements at home were substantial.

More than that, John Kennedy came
across as a real human being. He was young,
handsome, intelligent, and most important, he
really seemed to care about the people of this
country. He cared about racial discrimination,
about poverty, and other domestic issues.
And he tried to do something about them.

When John Kennedy died, so did a part of
America. He put his energy and vigor into a
country awakening from the slumber of
Eisenhower years, and instilled optimism into
America. He had faith in the future of this
country. He believed that the government
should serve the interests of the people, and
he tried to serve them.

John Kennedy may have turned out to be
a great president had he had the chance. But
he was a great person. The alienation that this
young generation feels from the government
wasn't as great when Kennedy occupied 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue. It's a shame the good
die young and leave us with second-rate
people as leaders.