MANY OF US who were political liberals in Texas during the Kennedy era were apprehensive about what might happen during President John F. Kennedy's visit to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in November 1963.
The president's brother, Ted, had made an advance trip to Denton, a university town 30 miles north of Dallas. Listening to him that day, it was clear that the Kennedy family would have been happy if they could forever stay clear of Texas.
Shortly before the president's trip to Dallas, right-wingers began a vicious escalation of their criticism. The assaults reflected a venomous political and personal hatred that went beyond the usual verbal attacks.
Thousands of anti-Kennedy handbills began showing up throughout the area. With the header "Wanted for Treason," one leaflet was designed, as a reporter noted, "to look like a police 'wanted' poster, with front and profile photographs of Kennedy's head."
The allegations against the president said that he had been guilty of:
"treasonous activities against the United States.
betraying the Constitution (which he is sworn to uphold).
turning the sovereignty of the U.S. over to the communist controlled United Nations.
betraying our friends (Cuba, Katanga, Portugal) and befriending our enemies (Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland).
being lax in enforcing Communist registration laws.
giving support and encouragement to the Communist inspired racial riots.
consistently appointing anti-Christians to federal office.
upholding the Supreme Court in its anti-Christian rulings.
allowing aliens and known communists to work in federal offices."
Page 14 of the widely circulated Dallas Morning News on Nov. 22 was more significant. It was bordered in black and titled "Welcome Mr. Kennedy to Dallas."
The article then accused the president of friendship with Gus Hall, head of the U.S. Communist party; of ordering his brother to go soft on communists and "ultra-leftists;" of persecuting loyal Americans who criticize the president or members of his administration; and of "scrapping the Monroe Doctrine in favor of the "spirit of Moscow."
All of this — the leaflet and the newspaper coverage — was standard right wing garbage throwing. Texas conservatives routinely and falsely accused Kennedy of all the sins of "liberalism," plus of botching the Bay of Pigs invasion, and showing weakness during the Cuban missile crisis (in which, ironically, Kennedy defused a nuclear time bomb).
After all the hostility toward the president expressed in the press and on television, my wife Barbara and I were especially anxious in the days before the president's arrival.
On the morning of the 22nd, she said "I know something is going to happen. Someone is going to try to hurt him." We sat on the floor in front of our television set. When the word came through that JFK had been shot, we were devastated — not totally surprised.
Besides good-hearted people of both parties, many others had respect and deep affection for JFK. When Kennedy died, those who were especially saddened were those who sensed that "Kennedyism" — the early attempts to help the poor and to begin the attack on Jim Crow in the South — represented significant changes from past presidential policies.
Two thousand books have now been written about Kennedy and the conspiracies against him. Whatever the truth may be about his murder, 70 percent of the American public continue to believe today that JFK's death was part of some larger plot.
Once again, this American super-majority got it right.
Alan Miller of San Rafael taught bioethics and environmental studies at UC Berkeley for many years. He is a frequent contributor to Marin Voice.