Kennedy, 50 Years Since His Death

Literally the entire world was touched on Nov. 22, 1963 when U.S. President John F. Kennedy became the main character in one of the most famous assassinations of the 20th century. The investigation of that time period has not been able to clarify the causes of the crime; 50 years later, because of that, and in spite of the long time passed and the changes the world has undergone since then, the topic of the ex-leader and his close family still sparks interest.

Kennedy’s assassination opened up an age of attempts on the lives of political personalities of the American union. Five years later, Robert Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. fell victim to an assassin’s bullet and, still later, the black activist and leader Malcolm X as well. However, presidents did not escape attack either. Gerald Ford escaped being shot, and an assassin hit Ronald Reagan, but his life was able to be saved miraculously. Popular opinion grew that the U.S. political reality reflected an increased level of armed violence, as is occurring in American life in general.

As a figure, we should view Kennedy through his diverse facets, of which the personal ones have been a central topic for numerous articles, books and movies, considering that the family and its name are as close as you can get to an American dynasty. Nevertheless, few people can doubt that it is impossible to know what the assassination’s real, true circumstances were, and its varied, numerous mysteries seem to always stay in that nebulous place where they have rested for half a century.

Subsequent American presidents never managed to have the same image as this unique, Catholic president. Ironically, this is thanks to U.S. public opinion, while the world began to think of leaders as beings of flesh and blood. With these developments, it follows that the good image of the U.S. presidency began to diminish. Nixon, for political reasons, and Clinton, because of his personal actions, both have stood out in this way.

The United States is distinct. Its position as a superpower has diminished, while its Soviet archrival sunk in 1989. The rise of new, nontraditional political powers, which are also disconnected from the European powers, has signified a shift in the balance of power in a way that President Kennedy never could have suspected. Despite this, his place in history is assured, and his most grievous error was Vietnam, which became a bitter pill for American citizens who witnessed the political and military defeat of their country for the first time.

For Latin American generations, there is reason to analyze Kennedy’s figure peacefully. This does not mean total acceptance of his actions but rather finding out about one of the men who made history during the Cold War, an era over which Guatemala has much suffered and cried.