I was born and baptized in November of 1963. My life has always been tied to his death. As I celebrate 50 years of life, the nation marks a sad “golden” anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy. We watched the PBS “American Experience” special, several documentaries on the History Channel and look forward to additional coverage on MSNBC tomorrow evening. All of the old footage, the new interviews and the continuing speculation still hold our attention. We will never stop wondering “who” and “why.” I suspect there will be no end to the books and made-for-television movies. What interests me more, now, is not the event but the emotional and spiritual consequences of November 22, 1963.
Something in us died that day. The soul of a nation experienced the Paschal Mystery together in this brutal, meaningless, all too public death. A tsunami of grief washed over us from coast to coast. Kennedy’s requiem became a national liturgy the likes of which we did not see again until “9/11.” Many scholars have suggested that we have never been the same and I would agree. It was, for many, “the end of the innocence.”[1] I can hear Don Henley singing:
“Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn’t have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin’ by
But “happily ever after” fails
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales…”[2]
The death of John F. Kennedy forced us to confront some painful realities. No one is ever really “safe.” Yes, bad things happen all the time to good people. We must all face death one day. We were forced to face together the fragility of our lives and turn to one another and to God for strength and comfort. Like the women at the foot of the cross, we watched something horrific happen together. Like the friends of Jesus, we clung to one another in grief and fear. As in any personal encounter with the Paschal Mystery, it pierced the heart of America.
But the events of November 1963 were not definitive. We did not stop living, loving, hoping, working or praying for a better world. The death of JFK marks a new beginning. The last 50 years have been studded with joy and suffering, war and peace, failure and discovery. We are a people embracing a new millennium with hope. President Kennedy would surely delight in the space shuttle, the iPad, the first African-American president and the effort being made to give all people access to quality health care.
Perhaps, the best way for us to mark this anniversary is to live with greater purpose. It’s time for us, as a nation, to live in resurrection mode – to bring light and peace to every corner of the earth. May we come to view November 22nd as a call to service of one another and to the world. JFK’s legacy must be more than endless reels of 8mm film. It must be a future of hope and a personal commitment to relieve the suffering of others. It must be part of the larger movement of the American consciousness in which the whole world is embraced. In the fall of 1963, we had a profound experience of suffering and death. Fifty years later we can glimpse the resurrection in the best of what we have become. Our lost innocence has been replaced with a collective wisdom. We owe it to our world to live from that place of grace. We owe it to one another to live with integrity and do justice – not because we are Americans, but because we share the human condition. So, God bless America and God bless the whole world – no exceptions!
Blessings and love to you all…
Vicki
[1] Bruce Hornsby, “The End of the Innocence”
God is Always More 
Yes; not exceptions!