This Day in History: November 22, 1963
"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender,
or submission." ~John F. Kennedy
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| John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) 35thPresident of the United States en.wikipedia.org |
Embrace the Past. . .
November 22, 2013 encompasses a day filled with its share of sadness for America. As we embrace the past, one of the most shocking events in our nation's history occurred on his day in 1963.
But, that speech was never to be given. . .
"His assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, sent shockwaves around the world and turned the all-too-human Kennedy into a larger-than-life heroic figure. To this day, historians continue to rank him among the best-loved presidents in American history."[Source: http://www.history.com/topics/john-f-kennedy]
Three Shots Fired
Assassination was not new to America
but definitely unforeseen and astonishing.
What was intended to be a push for reelection
ended in a cataclysm that led the American nation
in a totally new direction.
ended in a cataclysm that led the American nation
in a totally new direction.
A mass of zealous people
Overran the streets, standing blade to blade
Waiting for even a glimpse
Of the thirty-fifth President’s motorcade
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Then, shots rang out in Dealey Plaza!
From whence did they come?
The Texas Book Depository?
“Grassy knoll” said some
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This tragic event of ’63
Took the life of a young president
Leaving an undying memory
An iconic figure unduly spent
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Was it a conspiracy
Was it a conspiracy
Or the lone gunman accused?
What major discrepancies
Left people beguiled? bemused?
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Those of us who lived that era
Still remember the dire words that aired
From CBS News’ Walter Cronkite
“In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired…
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Engulfed in numbing disbelief
Eyes filled with tears, limbs became numb
A nation’s people cried in shock
“What has been done? What has been done?”
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What happened next became history
John F. Kennedy was dead
Now it’s been fifty years
With much truth still left unsaid
“Change is the law of life.
“Change is the law of life.
And those who look only to the past or the present
are certain to miss the future.”
—John F. Kennedy
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| ©2012Awakenings Sharla Lee Shults |
Remember the words of President John F. Kennedy:
Empower the Present. . .
“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
―John F. Kennedy
Enrich the Future. . .
"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."
―John F. Kennedy