The pressure was on to clear customs recently for a much anticipated trip to Washington, DC. Despite leaving home in plenty of time, traffic was backed up and line-ups were long, causing minutes to seem like hours.
Former reporter David Meyer was along with us for the ride. Prone to telling it as he sees it, he blurted out loud enough for most to hear, “the long lines are all because of 9/11.”
It is a point we ponder each time we go out of the country, but fail to verbalize (certainly while getting through security).
September 11, 2001 was that terrible day when terrorists commandeered jets and flew them in to the World Trade Centre in New York City and elsewhere. Since then, in the name of safety, security has been heightened and governments have taken to spying on citizens to assuage fears of potential attacks after 9/11. Chatting with a lady from Texas as we retrieved our belongings, she mentioned overhearing a young child ask his mother “was it always this way when you were little?” Civil liberties were dealt a blow that day and soon very few of us will remember how it once was.
Most decades have such events where time stands still and the course of history is changed. One such event was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.
Within seconds, shots thundered out in Dallas, and a presidency was ended, leading to a decade of strife and serial mistrust, as well as the assassination of others, including Dr. Martin Luther King and JFK’s brother, Robert. These were the 60s, a time really only understood by those who lived through it. This history was presented at the Newseum, which was the destination of our trip to DC.
Several exhibits brought to life the notion of Camelot, since dismissed as a fairy-tale concocted after JFK met his untimely death. His time was imperfect, as Americans have since learned. News reels, documentaries and clips of the Walter Cronkite reports that fateful day were shown to honour the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death. A sombre mood often swept the audience – younger people captivated by the history and others recalling where they were when, often with tears of remembrance.
The question of what could have been leapt into the conscience of many. No one will ever know the answer, but the question lends itself to Kennedy’s enduring popularity.
The history of News-making throughout was appreciable, including all forms of broadcast and print media. Recognizing the special gift given News photographers made the tour through the Pulitzer Prize gallery a real trip down memory lane. Photographs that have appeared in the world’s finest Newspapers and magazines drew out many memories of events that shook the world in recent decades.
As history would suggest, events of all sorts shape the world around us, but it really is up to us to decide whether these touchstones will be considered the end of an era, or the beginning of something better.
