From the Other Side of the Edge….
It’s John Kennedy’s Fault….
By Joe Facinoli 

"......Don't let it be forgot,  that once there was a spot,  for one brief shining moment,   known as............Camelot." 

Who could ever forget it,.....or him? 

If you were alive then,......you will remember.    Always.  

Camelot.  

That smile.   That charisma and persona.    That accent.    That hair.   

The sense of humor.    Those bright and twinkling eyes.    That wit, so quick, so direct, so on point.   

Hyannis Port.    The "Compound".    Touch football by the Cape.    The endless family of brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, all everywhere, all at once.    

Jackie.   Caroline.    John John.    So beautiful, so handsome, so cute.    So perfect.   

Old Joe Sr., the guiding hand, he of the back room deals.    Rose.    Bobby.    Joe Jr., the martyred chosen one, and the one to live up to.    Honey Fitz.    Boston.    Harvard.    American Royalty.   

PT-109.    War hero.   Profiles in Courage.    The Pulitzer Prize.     An Inauguration speech for the ages.   

The "Kennedy Mafia".    The "Best and Brightest".    Georgetown.    The takeover of DC after the "passing of the torch" to our "new generation".    Those press conferences.  

That style.    That glamor.    The re-done White House, and the renewed tributes to our history, and culture, from this younger bunch, so full of life, and of "today's" values.    

The sense of purpose.    The belief that it could be done, and that all was possible.    The trust in that.    The ease with which he spoke to us, the comfort we felt when he did.   

Paris.   Jackie again.   Berlin.   "I am a Berliner!".    Ireland.    Heritage, legacy.   

The stare down with Khrushchev.   And Nikita blinked.    The Monroe Doctrine.    The sense of history, and that each moment, and each decision, mattered.  

The "Challenge" to America, to get to the moon first, and quickly.   And we did. 

The massive legislative initiatives.    Civil Rights, Poverty, Crime, Education.    So broad, so deep, such concern for "regular" Americans.    So scary for "established" DC.   

Dallas.    The tragedy.    After so much triumph, after so much uplifting hope and promise.    Too soon.    Too much not finished, too much never to be seen.     

Those never ending drums, the rolling caissons, the riderless horse.     The silence of the huge crowd.  

The "Salute".   

Arlington.    The eternal flame.    And the eternal, ebullient light from that now eternal smile, forever frozen at 46.   

Who could ever compete with all of that?? 

But, for almost fifty years, we have let them try.   All comers.   America has looked and looked, and hoped, and looked some more, and finally, has begun to search desperately, for another like him.   Or someone even close.   Someone to lead us, someone to believe in.   And our choices since then, clearly reflect just how desperate we have become. 

We thought that it could be Bobby, for a while, even with his harder edge, and sometimes petty and ruthless ways.   But his light was soon extinguished as well.   

We never thought it could be Teddy, but still we tried, for longer than we should have, to make that shoe fit.   But no.   

Others appeared, rose to false prominence, and then fell back.   Showed promise, but then disappointed.    

Many tried, many did their best to imitate and emulate.   Many pretenders, many wannabes, many imposters, but alas, many never were.   

The conservatives thought they had their man, for a brief time, and he tried his best to lead us to that "city on a shining hill".   But in the end, although leaving us with much to hold close, he was seen more as the "tired old king" that someone sung about.   

The liberals have thought they've had their man, three different times since Jack left us.   But all have proven to be very poor, even dangerous, imitations.     

The inexperienced peanut farmer, and the inexperienced community organizer, sandwiched around the most dubious of the three:   the inexperienced intern advisor and lip biter..........all proved, or are proving themselves to be, far, far less than advertised, and far too short of their promised proximity to the one, the ideal, whom we miss so deeply, and so completely.  

But that time is gone, as is he.   That one, agonizingly brief, shining….moment in the sun.   

Waiting for its return could prove as fruitless for this country as the hollow accomplishments of those who have followed, tried their brand of charisma and leadership, and have failed.   

He was not our greatest President, nor statistically, even our most popular.   In fact, his election was by the closest popular vote margin in our history.  And as well, he showed his inexperience, early on.  

But once we realized what we had, especially after we had him no more, he became the beacon for almost all Americans to look back on, as the standard for our continuing search, during the entire second half of the twentieth century, and on into the present one.    

The thought of his persona, his ability to make us feel good about America, and about ourselves, that's what we wanted, and still hope for, regardless of party, regardless of how it may be packaged.  

Oh there were warts.   And shortcomings.   Weaknesses, and even failings.    

But as a nation, we have chosen to ignore these, and have manufactured and imagined a legacy far greater than it ever was, far beyond the true merits.    

This should have been the norm, we think deep inside, and not the exceptional.   Our country deserves better than what we usually get.   Our brilliant Founders set it all up in such a way, so that we could always get the best.   Quite a promise, but so lacking in actual fulfillment.   

And now, no one can ever possibly measure up to that legacy, real or invented, as our cynicism grows and grows upon itself, and our heartbreak and longing for that special place and time, for that moment,...for our Camelot, continues on.  For most of us, without even knowing why.     

Two of our last three Presidents have taught us that affected charisma and giving good speeches are hardly enough.   There has to be some "there" there, as well.    

JFK had a unique aura.   But he also had common sense, many broad life experiences to draw from, and a balanced and well crafted brilliance, to go along with that peerless ability to communicate.   

And he knew who to surround himself with, and how to delegate, and how to listen.   And how and when to make decisions.    

It may simply be our hapless, luckless fate now, as we continue the search, to never find one like him.   We may have been given our one chance, and we used it up, sadly and unwisely.   

Someone may surface one day, unite us, and show us leadership skills well beyond any of those exhibited over the past 50 years.   But until that leader emerges, our current group (from both sides of the spectrum), given their present course, will surely persist in demonstrating the disappointment that bad imposters, of him, of our ideal, always and ultimately do.  

Until such time, when they can muster some courage, decency, and common sense, from within their greed ravaged souls, and show some of the Kennedy thoughtfulness for what's good for America, all of America, and do some of the "right things", regardless of who benefits, or who has to sacrifice, we will continue to suffer the grave consequences of their actions. 

The Kennedy years were exciting, always dynamic, and even chaotic.   Change was abundant everywhere, with the new, bold ideas unceasingly moving out the old and established.   They knew what they wanted to do, and they knew how to do it.     

But there was always an underlying kindness, and charity, to all of their actions and intentions, and we believed, perhaps more than we should have, that the "right things" were always being considered, and taken into account.    

So, truly.......it's John Kennedy's fault.    All of this.   Purely, plain, and simple.   

Not Bush's, not Reagan's, not Bubba Clinton's.    

Not even Obama's, although that jury is still out for another three years.    

No, even though all of them have left us much to overcome as a nation, and even plenty to dislike, they simply cannot be blamed entirely for their behaviors, because none of them had what America really wanted.  And we could not sincerely follow any of them, at least not anyone we thought to be so flawed.   

None of them could lead us in a proper manner, because we were never able to buy into any of them, nor believe in them completely enough, because they were not him, or who we thought was him.   And with that crippling limitation, they could never get our full attention, nor cooperation.     

Not after what happened.   

America gave it's heart away once, and like so many forlorned and mournful lovers, left behind by events beyond their control, sometimes tragic, can't find a way to believe again, to trust again, to give themselves up again.   

We've hated the succeeding politicians and leaders, exactly because they were not him.   Or the perceived image of him.   Even the younger generations have fallen in line with this, again, without even knowing why.    

We were so proud to have such a leader, only fitting for the greatest nation on earth, we thought.   But that only makes it worse for us now, the way he was taken, with so much left undone, and with who was left to do it.   

Those inadequate souls would be hated, in much the same way as a parent was, for taking away our favorite toys as a punishment, or for grounding us "unjustifiably".   Or as a stepchild does, “hating" their new step parent, simply for not being their beloved one, now gone.    

Or, much like jilted lovers, or those troubled children, not knowing whom to be angry with for their pain and suffering, we have no new suitors on the scene to quell our cynicism, nor any suitable mentors, to help ease that pain.   

Instead, like the bitter stepchild, or the sad and hardened lover, we have been taking out all our frustrations, and sense of loss, on the ones closest to us, the ones we should be trying to work with.   

The longing for that ideal, coupled with the continued emptiness in our nation's heart, has contributed greatly to make our collective spirits both cynical and apathetic.   And this condition has led, fairly directly, to all the distrust of our leadership, and the apathy towards them, no matter whom.    Of course, their poor attempts at leadership, and governing, may have had just a little to do with this long term malady, as well.   

Obama is a good, but not the only, recent demonstration of this phenomenon, and his tenure will surely help perpetuate this universal malaise towards national leadership.    

He drew everyone in, only to reveal, once examined closely, .......well, .......nothing.   Which made him no better than all his predecessors.   And maybe even worse, for all the feelings of misplaced and unappreciated loyalty he has spawned, and the bad tastes he has created, in the mouths of all who had fallen blindly in line for him, hoping that he could be the one.   

Empty suits and empty rhetoric, compounded, one on top of another, and then more from the next one, and then another, and still another one, and the next, and then more.    And then,.......here we are.      

We did not want them, and they did not know how to win us over.   

And their attempts were quite poor, to say the least, and often dishonest.   Far too often, dishonest.   

And they lied.   So many times.    And on and on it went, and goes.   And now, no one trusts, nor likes, nor wants to work with, nor even listen to, even for a minute,.......anyone.  

All the animosity, and partisanship, the blaming, the finger pointing, the hair pulling, all the corruption and misconduct, has come about because there have been no true leaders.   No one that America, as one nation, could believe in fully, get behind, give their hearts to, put their faith in, …..together.   

No one like John Kennedy.   

He was the beautiful girl, or the handsome guy, that you had a first time, one of a kind fling with, that wonderful summer you'll always remember from your younger days, or whenever.   Someone you just knew was "the one".   The soulmate, the fantastic lover, the close and dear friend.   Only to lose them, somehow, and then never see nor hear from them again, ever.    

It changes how you feel, about every partner that follows, and maybe even your overall attitude for most things in your life, even the very important ones. 

Yes, yes, surely............it's John Kennedy's fault.     

We had our “Camelot”, and certainly, ….let it be not forgot.     

But what is now sadly and forever gone, should not also become "Paradise Lost".   For WE are still here, and just as certainly, the same precious gifts and opportunities, which define our great nation, and our people, still also remain.  

Let’s just stop looking for another Arthur, or even the next Lancelot, and get down to the real business which we so desperately need to do.   

That of saving our own beloved “magical kingdom”, ….from ourselves, …..and from our own self ruinous path.   

Joe Facinoli 

(Joe can be reached at:   joefacinoli@gmail.com )

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© Copyright 2013, Joe Facinoli