Letters: JFK and what could have been
Re “Still no conspiracy,” Opinion, Oct. 27
Richard M. Mosk’s Op-Ed article reminds us that it’s been almost 50 years since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Since Nov. 22, 1963, our country has gone through an enormous social and political transformation. Unfortunately, our country has also suffered senseless assassinations of other people who might have had an enduring positive impact on our nation.
We have been witness to unpopular wars and social turmoil. We became cynical of our government and its elected officials. One presidential election was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and not by which candidate actually got the most votes.
In spite of all of this, I can still hear Kennedy delivering his inspiring inaugural speech on a cold January day in 1961. That’s what I choose to remember of our beloved president.
Joe Martinez
El Segundo
Mosk credits JFK conspiracy theorists with creating the “paranoid style of American politics.”
Really? Was it paranoid to believe that the Nixon administration bugged and sabotaged the president’s “enemies” and lied to cover it up? Was it paranoid to believe that Oliver North ran a secret gun-running operation out of an office in the White House basement? And was it paranoid to believe that the National Security Agency spied on millions of Americans and others?
As Joseph Heller noted, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you. In post-Dallas America, a little bit of paranoia has proven to be a healthy thing.
Peter Brosnan
Montebello
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