Changing The Country Doesn’t Work By Remote

Editor’s note: On Jan. 21, the Perspective page of The Spokesman-Review reprinted the text of President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, given 35 years before. The headline was “What happened to Camelot,” and readers were invited to submit their thoughts, many of which were incorporated into a follow-up story this past Sunday. The following Your Turn column also was submitted in response to the Camelot article.

Camelot wasn’t realized because the profile of the following generation changed dramatically.

In general, our generation - John Kennedy’s - were kids during the Great Depression. Most of us experienced severe mass poverty. What little we got was treasured.

Most of our grandparents had little formal schooling. They went to work young to help their families. Our parents were lucky if they finished high school. We were very aware that education was a great privilege.

As kids we saw the union movement develop. We saw our lives improve with union wages as we saw our strong middle class develop.

We grew up in the Second World War era. With a few exceptions, everyone was fighting on the war fronts, or helping on the home front.

We worked together to save our country. We loved and appreciated our country. We were very patriotic.

After the successes in war and the economy, we were ready to take on the remaining ills. We were ready for Camelot.

However, we were also getting older and raising families. Television-watching began replacing community involvement.

The ensuing generation wasn’t tempered by the Great Depression. Things were expected rather than appreciated.

Vietnam divided us rather than unifying us, as World War II had done. Computers entered the scene and, together with television, produced an even greater lack of community togetherness.

This final emergence of self over community has nullified the quest for Camelot.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.