Before November 22, 1963, as an 8-year-old, I was blissfully ignorant of the shadows of society and was happy to bask in the sunny Kodacolor optimism of John Kennedy’s New Frontier.
But after that long weekend, the fragility of life became crystal clear…if President Kennedy, brimming with vigor and energy, had been silenced and stilled, no one was safe.
Afterwards and for years to come, we would remember precisely where they were, and what they were doing when they heard the news from Dallas. Comparison to Pearl Harbor were inevitable. But unlike Pearl Harbor, folks could not enlist in the military to give vent to their feelings. They could not take a war job or patriotically give up meat and gasoline.
There was little we could do, it seemed, but grieve.
The first cracks in my mid-century American dream had begun to appear
Envisioning The American Dream 
We had no idea what would lie ahead. We survived Vietnam, Watergate, Sept 11 and COVID. Today’s mess seems to strike deeper. Part of the American Dream is that we believe we are stronger as a nation than anyone or anything that threatens or divides us. Never have we been less certain.
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Throughout all those disasters and challenges I never once thought our democracy could die. It would get dinged up a bit but we would survive. now I am not certain
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Appreciate the post, thanks for sharing. May our Democracy reignite to spark better days ahead, A beacon of hope was taken too soon.
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