Dear Nance,
The “tellie” in my hotel room is showing the funeral of President Kennedy live by telestar. It is a grim and somber moment. I think of the words of Lincoln – “it is for us, the living, to be here dedicated… that these honored dead shall not have died in vain… that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from this earth.” And perhaps this is some explanation of why you and I are today separated by an ocean - - and the dedication to service and the dignity of man comes again between my family and me.
I have come to understand that part of the reason that the grown-ups were so upset was the uncertainty that event brought to their lives. It was the end of optimism, and the beginning of doubt and insecurity. That single event led to so many changes in society and I have wondered more than once what might have been had Kennedy not been killed that November day. Would we have been so involved in Viet Nam? Would the protests demanding social change for African Americans and for women and for others have happened? There is, of course, no way to know… but I wonder.
For me personally, Kennedy’s funeral marks the day that I
broke my left arm, severing the radial nerve and setting my own life on an
unexpected path. Would my life have turned out much differently if I hadn’t
been so restless and not decided to bother my sister and her boyfriend, falling
and breaking my arm? Perhaps. But I do know that every experience we have is a
vital part of who we are, and I would not be who I am today if those
experiences hadn’t happened. And neither would we as a nation.
And so, in my own small ways, I strive for “the dedication
to service and the dignity of man”, thinking every day, “if I can just make one
person have a better day today, if I can serve (in the truest sense of the
word) mankind in some way today, the world will be a better place tomorrow”.
