|
Edited on Mon Nov-26-07 12:08 AM by scarletwoman
And I totally feel the same. I was a little older than you, just turned 14 eight days before (my "golden birthday", in fact!). Raised Catholic; in 8th grade, my first year in a public school after attending Catholic schools from kindergarten on.
It was the day that this boy I had a huge crush on had made a date with me to walk me home for the very first time. Texas was/is in the same time zone as my old school in St. Paul, MN. The teachers were summoned via the PA system to the office, then returned shortly afterward and told us the president had been shot.
They broadcast the radio news over the PA system, so we all just sat in our classrooms, listening to newscasts. What I remember most clearly is my best friend screaming and bursting into hysterical tears when the radio announced that President Kennedy had been declared dead. They let us all out of school then.
That boy didn't walk me home, we sat under a tree and talked for awhile after school let out, but both of us agreed that in the face of the monumental tragedy that had befallen our country it just didn't feel right to carry on with our "date".
That Sunday, I too was with my family, watching TV when Ruby killed Oswald right in front of the news cameras. It was my WWII veteran Dad who said, "Well, they've made sure we'll never know what really happened."
I still thought it was possible to recover, even after MLK and RFK. I still thought there was a chance for this country to blossom into a truly enlightened society up until I saw Carter being torn down. Then I realized that the forces which killed those men really had won.
I didn't fight so much as simply drop out. I lived lightly on the fringes, raised my kids and studied lots of different things and learned lots of different skills. I still voted for Democrats in every election without fail, but really didn't get politically involved until the 1992 election when I caucused up in Alaska for Jerry Brown.
I let my hopes rise again on Clinton's inauguration -- Fleetwood Mac and all that. But I eventually understood that nothing had changed, the forces that killed King and the Kennedys were still in charge. Still are, of course. Still will be after this 2008 election, barring some miraculous event.
There's an awful lot of work to do, if we are ever to "find that beloved country".
sw
|