With such turbulent times in American politics upon us, many attempt to look back at a simpler time and point to images of leaders like FDR, JFK, Reagan and even Abraham Lincoln with nostalgia. But really, are those times that much better than where we are as a society now? Or are those times perceived better because we are looking through rose-colored glasses?
When you look at overall discontent, the United States, in theory, is in no more disarray now than it has ever been, and honestly, the changing of a culture is nothing new for American politics and society.
When looking at past presidents, we all attempt to rank those who we feel were the most qualified and the most under-qualified (or even in more extreme terms, detrimental to US society). These leaders are looked at through a microscope and judged for their impact on the legacy of what many refer to as the greatest nation in the world, or at least judged by how we perceive the qualifications of a particular man.
The new movie "Chappaquiddick" sheds light on a family that is synonymous with headlines and the legacy of the United States: the Kennedys. Specifically, the movie looks at the "JFK Years." The more important insight is not how the "JFK Years" impacted society at that time, but how those years and more so the changing of those years are remembered and hold up over 50 years later.
The JFK years could best be summed up with the image of America being portrayed to not truly reflect the inner heart of who we actually were as Americans. They portrayed us the way that we wished to be viewed by future generations and the rest of the world at that time and going forward. The JFK years, or more so the end of the JFK years, should be an image of a changing culture — some for the better, and obviously some for the worst. The image that JFK himself represented and the picture of what America was signaled the changing of the guard from what America once was and what America would come to be.
When we look back at the time that preceded JFK, it was an America and culture that was optimistic about its future and for the most part trying to insinuate the positives and hide the negatives. We see the quote-unquote "silent generation" that was being conditioned to be the "yes men" of the new age. The expectations that were laid out were what was required to be in the norm, and therefore being in the norm was clearly the most important thing. The traditional family dynamic of the male "breadwinner" and the housewife was set out to create this American Dream that had been drilled into the psyche of the post-war generation.
"Although there were dangerous moments in the Cold War during the 1950s, people often remember the Eisenhower years as 'happy days,' a time when Americans did not have to worry about depression or war..." (Pach Jr, 2017)
The fact that the problems with America were slowly starting to set back in at the change of the decade scared many Americans. Changes were clearly on the horizon. American society felt the need to solidify someone in office who would maintain that same ideological image of yesteryear and still represent a "fresh," almost "J Crew model-like" face, someone who would perpetuate that perfect American family for future generations. JFK in most minds will be remembered for his natural gifts of charisma and his ability to almost "swoon" the rest of the world, much like how his wife Jackie did with the French during negotiations with the Soviet Union.
Even though many could say his attempts of "working the Soviet Union" didn't actually work, the idea was still reflected that we as a society and world power needed a president that could almost portray that it really did, that we held the cards against any nation who would dare oppose us. This scary and unpredictable time necessitated a figurehead who was a smooth talker and incredible at playing politics, whereas someone like Eisenhower or even LBJ who was brash and outspoken could possibly put us on the brink of nuclear holocaust.
So, what does this all mean for society today? In the age of an elected president who tweets more than most celebrities and is seemingly always engulfed with some sort of personal life scandal, it is almost like a breath of fresh air to think of a presidential family like the Kennedys. Obviously, the Kennedys were not free of any personal life scandal, but they just did a better job at covering their tracks.
JFK's wife Jackie Kennedy was one of the first women of the White House who was looked at as just as important as the president himself. Yes, we had strong women before her like Eleanor Roosevelt and Edith Wilson, but Jackie personified that class and image better than any other First Lady and was a visual example of what the culture felt all women should aspire to be. Jackie's style, soft-spokeness and loyalty to the family and country was exactly the cultural image that JFK and American society needed.
Looking at the last election and even the Bill Clinton years, it seems like not much has really changed since 1961. Women who would deviate from that prototype were ridiculed and looked down upon, much like how Hillary Clinton was looked at not just during her campaign, but even when she served as First Lady under President Clinton during the 1990s. Strong, independent and self-sufficient women like Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi or even Sarah Palin who went against the submissive female stereotype just needed to "sit down and shut up."
Jackie and JFK were everything that aligned with the values of 1960s American culture. Any time that someone asks me what I think the most significant event in 20th century American politics is, I am very quick to tell them: the assassination of President Kennedy. Ironically enough, the assassination itself is not the most devastating piece of the puzzle, which is very traumatic and terrible, but what it truly meant to American society and the rest of the world. The assassination was so devastating to America as a unit and culture because it was a signal that change was coming and a new way, whether good or bad, was on the brink. The JFK years and the culture promoted during that time were officially over.
JFK and his legacy were everything that America stood for, and now with him out of the picture, this way of life and the values of "The American Dream" with peace and prosperity were in severe jeopardy. The innocent images of "Ozzie and Harriet" and the perfect "American Dream" were now tainted by the reality of what was actually brewing in America and the underbelly of the culture itself. JFK's legacy today could be remembered as the calming of a radically violent and changing society and the last of the old images of what society felt the once-promising and heavy moral generation would succumb to.
People in America actually believed during that time that LBJ and the government would not keep us as safe as the gentle, smooth, charismatic leader JFK did; now all the real problems in America very visibly surfaced. JFK and his demise truly the tainted the image of a hopeful America into a violent reality and the rise of the issues that the "JFK America" did not want to realistically face during that time.
These issues and problems were eventually faced, and whether there was progression or regression, they were ultimately addressed. But cynicism and being pessimistic about the media and everything else surrounding the culture seems to truly be the change that has stood the test of time after all these years. When looking at the current political climate, I almost long for a time when ideological image and optimism, even if based on a false illusion, took precedence over the new reality of distrust, hopelessness and overall discouragement.
