Galbraith & Kennedy: A chance encounter that almost changed the course of history? Photo Credit: CBC-TV

President John F. Kennedy has been dead for nearly 50 years. Yet his memory still shines brightly for many people. This is in large part because he was an attractive, charismatic leader in his day and because he did not grow old with us. Despite numerous attempts by revisionist historians to disparage his reputation, there are huge numbers of people around the world who still hold him in high esteem. Although tarnished slightly, for the general public, JFK’s place among the pantheon of American heroes is secure.

In my view, John F. Kennedy was in some ways a mediocre President. His pursuit of lascivious pleasures and his opinion of the opposite sex would have risked huge embarrassment in today’s politically correct culture. His legislative record of passing laws was dismal. His domestic policies were often not as brilliant and as progressive as our faulty memories would suggest. In the private arena of the White House, he was not always the calm, well-mannered individual his spin doctors made him out to be.
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Now seeing as Remembrance Day has come and gone, it seems appropriate to discuss our beleaguered military and the misguided government who directs it. Now I am sure I am not the only poppy-wearing Canadian getting sick of our soldiers coming home in body bags, I’m sure our government is too – but seeing as the most significant thing they’ve done in regards to our armed forces is extend our one minute of silence to two on November 11th, I question the level of their concern. Perhaps we should be more invested in our soldiers while they are alive rather than remembering them after they are gone. Although considering the steady stream of body bags coming home, perhaps the government is on to something.

I have never been a fan of war. If I was alive during the ‘60s I would have felt right at home. But I am willing to accept that there are those in this world that just do not excel at co-existing with others. People like Hitler, Stalin, and my favourite character on Team America, Kim Jong-Il. Adding to this list, you got your crazed, blood thirsty revolutionaries which are too numerous to name but dot the international map in mass quantities and can be found in tragedies like Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. No one pretends that our world is a perfect place, in fact, it is pretty messed up. And it is for these unfortunate circumstances that we have our military, and thank goodness we do.
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