One of those great "What if?" moments in history. How different would things be if he had never been killed? Or would it not be very different at all?
In many ways, our distrust of government started with his assassination. As in all things, this was not the single thing that caused that distrust, but I do believe it was a strong catalyst sped it up.
Vietnam is the big question. The war served as a catalyst for a lot of things. If it never happens, then certainly things would be different, at least somewhat.
I honestly love both of these. An old Navy friend’s Dad was upteenth generation Cajun, born and raised in Southwestern Louisiana. He told me that he was in high school when JFK was assassinated and remembers it clearly - because the he and the other kids cheered and clapped when the principal announced it over the PA. He just sort of said it with a completely flat affect - neither apologetically nor boastfully - just as a statement of fact. And I’ve thought about that a lot, as they say.
JFK loved peace, and hated war - sincerely, deeply and personally. He had visited Vietnam as a Congressman in the early 1950’s and had seen the enormity of the French mistake, firsthand.
My mother was 14 in 1960 and she has always talked about the absolute fear at the time of the Pope having control of the White House. I wonder if JFK was the height of the pomp, power and naivete of the Presidency.
We probably don't get the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and certainly not the Voting Rights Act in '65. Kennedy's death helped jump start the former and both were pushed along with the acumen of LBJ, perhaps the most skilled mover and shaker ever in Congress.