Every generation has its own life-altering moment. I imagine it was the day Pearl Harbor was attacked for my mother and father. December 7, 1941, “…a day which will live in infamy.” President Roosevelt delivered his famous Infamy speech the next day and the world turned upside down. Within weeks, thousands of young men, my Dad included, showed up at the various military induction centers. He chose the Navy and for him the war was in the Pacific ocean. America switched gears and literally went from producing butter to guns. I wish my Dad or Mom were still alive so I could ask them the generational question, Where were you when….?
President interviewed by Walter Cronkite. President Kennedy ( close-up ). Hyannisport, MA, Squaw Island. – NARA – 194259 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
During my youth, of course I was well aware of the Pearl Harbor attack. Not only was I a child of a veteran, I also grew up watching the plethora of war movies that were made in those post-war years. I remember Robert Mitchum. Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Gregory Peck and Burt Lancaster. We grew up with Ding Dong School, Fall Out Shelters, Elvis Presley, the fear of Communism, the Cold War and the Beatles. When did my world stop and gasp and change? The day President Kennedy was shot. 50 years ago today, I was a sophomore in high school. The loud speakers of the intercom system rang out with a few long beeps to get everyone’s attention. Then we heard those horrible, insidious words; “The President has been shot.” Screams of ” Oh No, Oh God” resounded through the halls. Who would do such a thing? Yes we knew that a president could be assassinated, after all history had taught us about President Abraham Lincoln. But that was then and this is now and our beloved President had been shot and might die. We were the kids who did the sit-ups, the jumping jacks and the dreaded push-ups, all part of President Kennedy’s Physical Fitness Program. He was our hero, the First Lady was beautiful and life in the early 60’s was good. School was immediately dismissed and we all scurried home to our moms (who of course were home) and spent the rest of day crying and watching Walter Cronkite. Church bells rang, flags were lowered to half staff and we cried, our mothers cried and when Dad came home, his jaw tightly set, he cried.
And then along came our children, the future Generation X and Y. My son was just a toddler when the Vietnam War was played out night after night on the television but it didn’t really affect his life – his father was not going to war. These kids were living a life their grandparents only dreamed of in terms of the quality of life, the enormous strides in technology bringing them further and further into the 20th Century. They were students of Sesame Street; I had loved Mickey Mouse, they loved Big Bird. My son went to a private high school, my daughter played soccer and tennis, they spent summers at the country club pool. But they also had turmoil and trouble and this time it was really close to home. The divorce rate in America skyrocketed and for the first time in America, thousands and thousands of the next generation were being raised in single parent households. I cried when John Lennon died, they cried when Michael Jackson died. By the time this group of young people reached their 30’s, their Where were you when moment hit and hit them hard.
911 happened and their world turned upside down. Of the over 2500 people killed that day, more than half of them were part of Gen X and Gen Y. So many of the young warriors of Wall St. perished in their day of infamy. All of sudden, the world that they grew up in which was so safe and secure transformed into a world where you couldn’t get on an airplane with your bottle of shampoo or your cuticle scissors. Armed soldiers roamed through Grand Central Station and police stood on the subway platforms. Now, going to a museum or the theater meant having your briefcase or handbag examined before you can enter.
So Where Were You When 911 took place?
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
Pbenjay's Blog 
Excellent job!
Thanks Susan, I can always count on your support!
So Where Were You When 911 happened?
I doubt I was even a spermatozoa in my daddy’s nut sack yet, but the wounds of the JFK assignation still hurt like it was only yesterday.
I’ve got to say I’m really amazed at how this year’s assignation coverage tried so hard to wrap up Kennedy’s killing for good. It’s as if the Powers That Be want this to be the last time we ever talk about it.
Every single special made this year either:
A) was a nostalgic media highlight real that largely concentrated on the reporters themselves. “Look at all the news-media stars who were created that day!”
B) used the Warren Commission as the script. Most specials patronized, or outright insulted, anyone who considered -not just certain conspiracy theories- but the mere possibility that Oswald didn’t act completely alone as mental inferiors. Yes, a couple shows had some interesting evidence supporting the Magic Bullet Theory. But the case against Oswald still isn’t strong enough to get a “guilty” verdict from me, let alone prove the official version that Oswald’s actions came out of the blue and couldn’t be stopped.There was virtually no discussion of the amateurism, the secrecy, or the cover-ups that took place, whatever their motives.
In short, this year was the year of the final coat of white-wash before whatever actually did happen gets shoved down the Memory Hole.
To me, the assignation wasn’t so much about the actual shooting. The shooting was the Rabbit Hole to another world. With only a mild scratching of the surface, you could see the man behind the curtain for the first time. You got a glimpse of how the sausage gets made. You got to see the ass covering, the lies, the secrecy, the plotting, the seedy relationships, the misbehaviour and conspiratorial nature of the US government and its officials…and how eager they are to hide the truth from us…the real patsies.
And that’s the part of the story that rings true today. In this day and age of Secret Kill Lists, indefinite detention, secret prisons, torture, mass surveillance and total secrecy, we’re again expected to put blind faith in our officials, no matter how undeserving they are. And that’s probably why this year’s specials were so different than the more Conspiracy-friendly specials of 20 years ago.
As for 9/11, I honestly can’t believe that after the first attack, anybody would want to work at the World Trade Centre. It too is an event that exposes the true seedy nature of what’s behind the curtain. It too exposes some very questionable relationships. And, just like with Kennedy, the Powers That Be wanted everything white-washed and buried for as long as they can.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today and leaving such a thoughtful, insightful comment. If you have not been a previous follower of this blog, I strongly suggest you read the posts in Conspiracy Theory Wednesday. There should be about 35 posts outlining the Coup d’Etat conspiracy theory about Kennedy’s death. It will certainly make you think and think again!
Thanks. What I write doesn’t often get called “thoughtful” or “insightful” .
Increasingly, I’m getting nit-picking criticism and disagreement, even from folks who supposedly agree with me politically. I must admit I cross-posted a few different versions of this comment on a couple of blogs. (A shameful and disrespectful practice.) I got as much criticism as anything else, even though I consider this a fairly “neutral” comment, especially considering the controversial nature of the topic.
I think (if I get time) I’ll check that Wednesday thing out.
Yes you should. It’s the Coup d’Etat Conspiracy theory. I found/find it fascinating and scary.