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JFK's Inaugural Address

JFK's delivery is stirring, and Ted Sorensen's words are eloquent, but in a way, I wish I hadn't run across this. It reminded me of an idealistic time when we believed that America would be the strongest force for good that the world had ever known. It was a time when our politicians debated issues with a measure of civility and class, and even occasional candor. And then ...

... there was the assassination, Vietnam, Watergate ...

I miss the way it was. I'm fully aware that the golden boy Kennedy actually had feet of clay, and perhaps he would have gotten America into even worse messes had he lived, but it never seemed that way. His youthful spirit and his wit and his ability to stir the masses were special, and after he died, things never seemed the same again. I was happier not being reminded of that.