Thoughts on the Death of JFK

My dear readers, the 22nd day of this month is
the 50th anniversary of a most tragic occurrence;
the most recent assassination of an American
president. John F. Kennedy, our president at
that point in time, was shot dead while riding in
an open convertible through Dallas, Texas, when
he was visiting there to firm up support for what
would have been his reelection campaign in the
following year.

Much has been said about the terrible event in
the following years; some say that a lone gunman
committed the atrocity, others say that he was
part of a vast conspiracy to bring Kennedy and
his presidency to a quick and bloody end, still
others say that the man thought to be the gunman
did not kill President Kennedy but rather was a
chosen scapegoat to cover up who really did the
ghastly deed and anyone else who might have been
behind the plot. Your loyal Peasant has heard more
conspiracy theories concerning the Kennedy
assassination than I can keep up with, and these
certainly vastly outnumber those which I have
run across concerning any other event in our
country's history, therefore I shall neither pick out
the theory or thories that may seem to make the
most sense from the standpoint of likelihood of
happening nor add any theory of my own (by the
by, I haven't got any theory to add in any event).
All I wish to say, regarding this dark anniversary,
is that this was the fourth of four assassinations
of presidents of the United States, and that I am
grateful that there hasn't been any more since.
May there never again be another one, either!
One of the principles which our great and wonder-
ful country was founded on is the preference for,
and the moral superiority of, the ballot over the
bullet for making political change. May all of
our elected and appointed officials be kept safe
from those who would eschew the former for
the latter.

For that is how a free and civil society functions.


MEM