General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When you see today's date on a calendar or printed or online [View all]NullTuples
(6,017 posts)Many point out that JFK was a womanizer who had a number of affairs - some of which are seen as having a power differential that could be termed predatory. He's quoted as saying, "If I dont have a lay for three days I get a headache." In prior generations, being seen as such a "ladies man" may have been seen as a positive, but now it's looked on in a less celebratory light, one that considers things like sexual harassment and equality, as well as what his philandering meant for and did to, his wife.
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Current textbooks also point out that he sent us much farther down certain paths in both the Cold War and Vietnam. He was a proponent of cutting taxes, which is viewed today as having a similar view to post-Reagan Republicans. And he was responsible for Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
He is also portrayed as being quite sincere in his drive to improve the lives of Native Americans & other racial minorities, culminating for him in the CRA of '64 (he'd announced it in June of '63). Likewise, he was responsible for the above-ground nuclear test ban treaty of 1963. If not for that, we'd have even more residual radiation today.
Most younger teachers and most students thus see him as another President, a mix of good and bad. Human. Politician.