America’s forgotten promise: uplifting the people

In President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961, he spoke of a new alliance for progress with Latin American nations, with the objective of uplifting the lives of people of the Western Hemisphere. Of course, another objective was to promote the national interests of the United States.

The Alliance for Progress was real. I saw some of the results. The war in Vietnam, sadly, contributed to its demise. We will never know to what extent there might have been sufficient positive good arising from the Alliance. Perhaps we would not have vigilantes patrolling our border with Mexico, refugee-laden boats landing on ourbeaches or chartered planes carrying desperate refugees to Martha’s Vineyard.

In the 1970s, the comic strip “Doonesbury” reigned supreme as entertainment and food for thought among people of a certain age and with certain interests. Three primary comic strip characters stood out: Mike Doonesbury, B.D. and Zonker Harris.

As best I can remember, in one of the daily strips, Doonesbury and B.D. are attending a class reunion. While standing at the buffet table, one remembers a quote from JFK’s inaugural address and references it: “I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”

Then they laugh with sarcastic disdain at the quote’s message. Abruptly, they stop laughing, a look of sadness on their faces. One looks at the other and says: “What’s happened to us?” The other responds: “I dunno man, I dunno ...”

I think about that a lot. What happened to us?

– Gary Malfeld,

West Kendall