In November 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, perhaps by a lone gunman, perhaps by rogue government operatives. Hopefully, we’ll find out with Donald Trump’s release of some 80,000 classified documents.
Who Can We Turn To?
The case appeared to be solved in 1993 by author Gerald Posner. In his book Case Closed, he walked the reader through incredible detail. He argued that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, fired the fatal shot.
After reading Posner's book, noted historian William Manchester said he could not imagine anyone having further doubt about the event.
I read Case Closed cover to cover when it was published and concurred with Manchester’s assessment. In addition, U.S. News & World Report concluded that Posner’s work was so convincing that the magazine would never feature another "who shot JFK?” book review again. Still, vast segments of our population didn’t buy the lone gunman explanation.
An Historical Incompletion
We must not errantly regard the case surrounding JFK's death. Why? The nature of American society changed as nearly an entire generation suspected that a conspiracy, perhaps a government-led conspiracy, might have brought down the leader of the free world in broad daylight.
Who knew what cynicism about government, the press, and truth itself, would ensue? For all 62 years since his death, new viewpoints, mythology, and conspiracy theories have abounded. The "who shot JFK?" industry has captured billions of dollars in revenue, constantly fueled by TV news "investigations," authors, books, and even tours. Now, add in the lack of closure regarded to the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. and of Robert F. Kennedy.
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Whether or not you were alive at the time, the nature of your life was impacted as a result of the historical ‘incompletion’ that has glutted society's receptors. Indeed, we all grew up in an America which was irrevocably altered as a result of the lingering doubts and suspicions about what actually occurred. These situations represent more than simply mysteries: they amount to no sense of national closure.
The Impact of No Closure
What is the impact when a popular president is gunned down, midday and there has been no closure to the case? A sizable chunk of what it means to live in a republic and to be a citizen has eroded for all of us.
Aren't we supposed to be able to get to the root of such events, especially those that shook a generation, the nation, and the world?
What psychological scars linger with no closure about JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy? When major cases aren't closed, everyone suffers, even if in small and nearly undetectable ways.
All of History Up for Grabs
Our contemporary ideological wars today extend to virtually everything that ever happened, whether one is assessing the formation of our nation, U.S. history, world history, the origins of Christianity, the origins of Islam, and so forth.
It was once widely held that dropping the atomic bomb on Japan hastened the end of WWII, saved tens of thousands of U.S. troops from a ground war, and provided the world with the closure it sorely needed after six years of global decimation.
Since then, arguments about the U.S. being the over-aggressor, the only nation to ever drop an atomic bomb on another, and the inhumanity of it all, have fueled Leftist rhetoric. When all events are subject to reinterpretation and revision, and little if anything is final, it wears on us.
A True Leader
Thank goodness we have a president, a true leader, in Donald Trump. He is willing to open up the files and let Americans, as well as everyone else around the world, finally learn the truth.
We most definitely need to know. The release of the documents is not merely a whim or an exercise in executive power. It is a much-required act of illuminating America's past, good and bad, to help us reflect upon what we will learn. Hopefully, we will take these lessons forward to create a stronger, more effective government and a better society.
Some people won't see it that way, but that's exactly what Donald Trump is providing for each of us. We are fortunate to have him as president, in this regard and in so many other regards.
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