I can see now that reading a book about the assassination of a modern president might not be the wisest decision during election time.
I read Killing Lincoln a few months ago. I was not alive when Lincoln was killed (contrary to some people's belief.) Therefore, the emotion of it wasn't as vivid.
I was 15 when Kennedy was killed. Is there a more vulnerable, emotion-laden age? I think it might have warped me a bit and I was from a Republican family who didn't love Kennedy all that much. It was the first I remember of true evil in the world. I didn't even live in Camelot and yet it somehow deflowered me. On through the rest of high school and college I experienced the horrors of Vietnam, Kent State, race riots and peace walks,the killings of Martin and Bobby, and on and on. The bubble of living an Eisenhower childhood was burst.
So as I read Killing Kennedy I was reminded of how flawed he was, how seemingly corrupt all our politicians and prominent people like J. Edgar Hoover were/are. I just saw more of the underbelly of society than I was willing to acknowledge today.
The book was revealing and I believe accurate. It brought up many memories of the sixties and the fiasco that seemed to worm its way into life. Before that time I was a child. Then I became an adult and nothing has ever been the same. Probably a necessary evil...just not something I wanted to be reminded of this week of the election.
4 comments:
HI!!
I was from a mixed family..DAD a democrat...who before he died at a young age....51 ...and saw what CARTER did....I know in my heart he voted for Reagan in 1980....I remember they way he talked about the failures of Carter......MY mom and her family were Republicans and My Grandfather always told me that GOD was a republican!!!I do believe he is right!!I have not read either book....I sure want too. SADLy I am intrigued by the Kennedy's...possible as they WERE AMERICA'S royal family....or USE to be...
Hugs,
jamie
I'm going to have to buy the book. The library line to read it is too long.
You need to be reading happy, uplifting books that require no thought and don't cause you to remember being deflowered.
That's why I prefer novels to political books...I'm an ostrich with his head in the sand. I remember how sobering Kennedy's assasination was for us in Canada - I was in high school at the time. We're watching Homeland these days. Great drama but another downer as far as politicians go.
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