I remember so clearly how, where, and when I heard the news. If you are anywhere near my age, you remember too. I was doing my student teaching, as we called it in those days (now it is called internship) in the second grade room of Mrs. Masters at Sequoyah Elementary in Tahlequah. In fact, I even remember that I was putting up a winter bulletin board for her. At first, I thought I had misunderstood. What had she said? But, no, she had not made a mistake and my hearing was fine. Someone had shot President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. We didn’t know, at first, how bad the injury was and when the word came that he was dead, it was unbelievable. Things like this didn’t happen. He was young and vigorous, out-going with a winning personality. In fact, one of his favorite words seemed to be “vigor” only he pronounced it “vigah” and, of course, he asked that all-important question that none of us should forget, “Ask not what your country can do for you –ask what you can do for your country.” The illusion of peace and safety was shattered. If death could happen suddenly and unexpectedly to the President of the United States, where was security? Where was stability and right and reason?
In many ways, the years have passed quickly. In many other ways, it seems a very long time ago because so much has changed in this half century. Grief unites and it divides but we survived as a Republic and as a free people and our country continues. I have seen many changes in these fifty years; some are good, some are bad. As we stop to remember, we can’t forget to keep our eyes open to what is happening around us in the here and now and weigh change in the balance. Is it good? Is it bad? We must keep in our hearts the love of freedom, our Constitution, the rule of law and reason, individual rights and responsibilities because everything we hold dear can be gone in an instant. Our country was founded by brave people whose faith in God and in God-given rights gave them the courage to defy a king and risk their very lives to make the dream of a free nation a reality. They forged a Constitution which is the bedrock upon which our country stands. Our Constitution is to be protected and respected and followed. Without a firm foundation, no house can stand for long.
Surely, as well as uniting and diving, great tragedy should teach a lesson. To me, that lesson is that life is precious, sacred, to be valued. Freedom is dear and is sometimes attained at a tremendous cost. The news that I heard fifty years ago in a classroom in Oklahoma was unbelievable and changed the way I looked at things. Safety is fleeting. We cannot put our trust in anything but lasting values. Freedom, love, truth, honesty and faith; these things are our bedrock and in God we trust.
Mary Edna Latty’s New Testament
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