President Kennedy was the first American President to be born in the 20th century. At age 43, he was the youngest person elected to the Presidency, the first and only Catholic, the first Irish-American, and the only to have received a Pulitzer Prize. I was 17 years old at the time of his Inaugural Address. To me, and to so many others of my generation - both in the US and around the world - he represented hope, inspiration, empowerment, progress towards human rights and defeat of poverty and tyranny. That speech can be viewed here. Some telling excerpts follow below:
"We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end as well as a beginning — signifying renewal as well as change."
" ... the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.… Now the trumpet summons us again.… I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it."
Kennedy laid down both a compelling gauntlet and an inspirational challenge. Those of us who were about to begin our university studies (I was at the time a senior in high school), those who were already studying and those who had recently completed their studies were all greatly affected by his call to public service. Some reactions are reported here."And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."
In 1962, the Kennedy Administration established the Peace Corps. Kennedy named Sargent Shriver to be its first director. Shriver had the great good sense to call upon and heed the proposals of a relatively unknown career foreign policy advisor in the State Department named Warren Wiggins, who was the major architect and organizer of what the Peace Corps would become. Shriver named him and another of my heroes, Bill Moyers, as Deputies.
We will never - ever - know what "might have been" insofar as too many other legacies of the Kennedy Administration are concerned. The musical Camelot, reportedly a favorite of the Kennedys, still brings me to tears, no matter how many times I see it. But, as things would turn out, on 22 November 1963, an assassin's bullet not only ended the too-brief life and career of John F. Kennedy, it traumatized a nation and the world. That assassin's bullet was only a precursor of much darker days - even decades - to come. Its shadow haunts us still.
But the Peace Corps, due to men and women of vision such as Shriver, Wiggins and those who followed them, has endured. It will continue to endure. There are just too many of us for assassins' bullets to be effective unless a full-scale all-out "war" is declared. We transcend petty party politics and labels. We reunite, as those of us from Peace Corps groups from the early 60s in Morocco continue to do.
We may be going gray, but we continue to connect and we still believe. We have children and grandchildren. From them will come generations that we will not even know. We hope that we have instilled - and will continue to instill - those worthy beliefs in public service in them. Because they are beliefs that uplift, that inspire, that give us all hope to continue. We believe that we CAN help to make the world a better place, especially for those who are among the most vulnerable.
We have many heroes who have inspired US and we hope that WE will continue to inspire others. But it is always sad to see one of our heroes leave us. RIP, Mr. Shriver. Obituaries in your honor are appearing already. I have no doubt but that you are happy now together with your wife, Eunice, and your brothers-in-law, Jack, Bobby and Ted, with Warren Wiggins and so many others who worked with and were inspired by you. I wouldn't be surprised at all if my own parents are among them.
May you all have the Greatest Wake ever together in the Hereafter!
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