The Great Society

Playing shadow to Mr. Celebrity president for two and a half years, Lyndon Johnson knew he would have to establish an iconic administration all his own after Kennedy’s unforgettable assassination. Following up such a man as Kennedy would not be easy, as he was adored by the public. Johnson got the presidency by default, as opposed to by the people’s vote. Johnson had never possessed the charisma or media-friendly personality that Kennedy had been known for. Yet, Johnson was determined to wield his power over America, which had so long been stifled by his background position during Kennedy’s fruitful years in office. Although he lacked Kennedy’s silver-screen looks and personality, Johnson was a master at wheedle his position, whether by flattery, persuasion, or threats.

Johnson both urged for passage of legislation that had been proposed by Kennedy’s administration and for much grander proposals of his own, concentrating namely on three domestic issues: tax cutting, civil rights, and economic inequality. It turned out that Kennedy’s death was very beneficial to Johnson in some regards. Johnson pressed congress to respect Kennedy’s last wishes by passing the legislation he had fought for in the last months of his life. By 1964, Johnson obtained the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in July 1964. Although, the act surely would have been passed eventually, the emotional pressure placed on the congress by Johnson quickly made up their minds on the case. Not only this, but between 1964 and 1965, nearly 200 new laws were passed. Although he used Kennedy’s assassination as sure-footed leverage, Johnson also made clear that it was time to close the New Frontier. He forged a new policy and called it the Great Society. He said that it was time for America, “to build a great society, a place where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor." Johnson wanted a society where things were “fair” and where no person was very poor, and so he pushed for welfare. Johnson also cared a lot about the image of the nation. Poor people were distasteful; they made a nation look bad. Similarly, the conflict of the Civil Rights Movement made America look divided and unorganized, and so he pushed for Civil Rights. On the other hand, Johnson believed that tax cuts would promote huge growth in the economy, and so he pushed for tax cuts. Many of Johnson’s policies, such as Medicaid, Medicare, and social security reflected his need to control America’s image as an unrelentingly anti-communist, economically unprecedented world power. However, the measures Johnson took to do this went awfully far. 

When Johnson took office immediately after Kennedy’s assassination, he was hesitant to get highly involved in the war in Southeast Asia, but he feared that his associates might find him a pushover towards communism. This was one thing he couldn’t have, so when Johnson gained the presidency, he sought to deepen the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. This was a step into quicksand, and getting out would take America twenty-five years. The war stretched on, yet even after Johnson felt sure that the U.S. would not be able to preserve an anti-communist in South Vietnam, he was torn over the consequences that would occur from a U.S. pullout and hestitated. This epoch would brought the death of over 58,000 Americans and two million Vietnamese. All this for one man’s reputation.

The Vietnam War was both our longest and our most controversial war. If you ask most people today why we fought the war, they will shake their heads in confusion. We lost millions of lives for absolutely no reason. Lyndon Johnson once said, “Any jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” What he didn’t realize is that this is exactly what he did in Vietnam—he kicked down a barn. Because of the Vietnam War, Johnson lost lives, resources, and the trust of his people. He couldn’t even face another presidency and determined not to run again in 1968. It seems that Johnson’s idea of a “Great Society” turned against him, for America was far from this ideal at the end of the Vietnam War. Truly, it was not a Great Society.

Mr. Celebrity President

John F. Kennedy served one of the shortest terms of any of the presidents of the United States, yet he holds as one of the American people’s favorite presidents. Why did this man who served only two short years loom so large in the hearts of the country? John F. Kennedy—Jack—as he was usually called, grew up the son a multi-millionaire business man in Brookline, Massachusetts. With ambitious dreams for each of their nine children, Jack’s parents urged him to make something of himself, especially in the academic realm. JFK was an extremely driven person.

Paradoxically, JFK was one of the most unique presidents and yet one of the most traditionally “American” presidents. He was a picture of “newness”, as both the youngest man and the first Catholic president to be elected. He captured the attention of the public with his tanned good looks, including a head full of hair, his snappy dressing, and his beautiful wife. The baby boom was slowing down, yet the idolized images of a healthy-wealthy family of the 1950s were still flourishing, and JFK, his wife Jackie, and their two children were the epitome of this image. Jackie Kennedy embodied the decade’s values for women; she was put together, dressed in French-designed dresses, and supported her husband tirelessly in his career. Achieving celebrity status that greatly contrasted his predecessors in the presidential office, JFK also possessed a mysterious and enchanting side. He was known to have strong connections to the media and to the glamorous celebrities in Hollywood. Still today, rumors of an affair with Marilyn Monroe are commonly believed to be true. The president was known for mixing with many lovely ladies other than his wife. As well as his appeal of newness, JFK also appealed to people because of his traditional American values. As the son of an influential businessman, and the grandson of two extremely influential Boston businessmen, JFK’s heritage was grounded steadfastly in the American culture. He attended Harvard University, the U.S.’s first college, which was built in 1636. In addition, JKF staunchly opposed Communism, which was the gripping fear of the 1950s, and which the nation had little forgotten. People felt that they could trust this through-and-through American. Balanced with charm, intellect, and American values, JFK won the trust and admiration of America.

Tremendously skilled, JFK possessed the power to talk to people. America listened. JFK was extremely eloquent and was the third president to use television to speak to the public. His short yet memorable sayings are what he is remembered by today, namely, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” JFK was the first president to effectively use the medium of television to speak directly to the American people. This phenomenon made the people listen, and JFK made them listen.  When he appeared on television, he strategically wore a dark blue suit, so that he would show up clearly on the black and white screen, which was in direct contrast to Nixon’s dull gray suit. Former Senator, Bob Dole recalled in a PBS interview, “I was listening to it on the radio coming into Lincoln, Kansas, and I thought Nixon was doing a great job.  Then I saw the TV clips the next morning, and he ... didn't look well. Kennedy was young and articulate, and ... wiped him out.” Next to Nixon, JFK was a picture youthful health. Most importantly, it wasn’t only what JFK communicated to the people, but how he communicated.

Even JFK’s political stances spoke of this exciting newness, with his most famous political catch-line, “The New Frontier.” He also wanted to confront the demons of the past like poverty, war, and ignorance in order to provide for a brighter future.  This included his strong push for the civil rights movement.

Shockingly, only two years into office, JFK was assassinated. No single other event could have made him more famous then he was in his lifetime. His death transported him from celebrity status to martyr status. Just as in his lifetime, television played a great role in this. His assassination was shown in homes all over the country.  Even the image of Jackie’s bloodstained pink dress has become iconic to America. Because many people watched the assignation and saw pictures of the murder scene, the president’s death became very real to them. It’s very difficult to hate a man who’s been unjustly murdered. With flamboyant youthfulness, swirling myths, and a dramatic assassination, JFK holds the interest of America still today. JFK had the whole package; he was our celebrity president.

Abortion is Harmful

Abortion is harmful in every instance.  Whether it is legal or in an early stage of the pregnancy, it harms the women in physical, mental, and spiritual ways, and it does not help restore rape victims back to their former way of life, and it also kills helpless unborn babies. In many instances, people state that there are logical reasons to have an abortion, but all the reasons that are given, including that they are too poor to have another child can easily be countered with options that do not produce death. For example a poor woman that is pregnant can easily give her child up for adoption, which would mean giving different couple the chance to enjoy and love the life that she has created. A woman without the means to support a family should also have thought twice then before taking part in the activity that is specifically designed to produce children. An abortion disregards a gift that was given to a man and a woman.

The first reason abortion should be illegal is that it harms women. Leslie Carbone says in her essay “Abortion Harms Women,” that studies have shown that women who have an abortion are three times more likely to commit suicide than the general population of America and six times more likely to commit suicide than women who have given birth to babies (165). In most cases, women admit that they think about their unborn child daily and grieve on every birthday that might have been if they had not killed their child, and when they see other women with children they are reminded of their children would have been if they had not taken the life of their baby. (Carbone 165)  Abortion also harms women physically. Many mothers have become infertile, very sick, or even died from the abortion surgery.  There is also a new found link between abortion and breast cancer. When carrying a baby a mother has hormones that are released in her body so that she can produce milk and a short time before she gives birth these hormones fully develop and mature so that her body can take care of the child. However when a woman then has an abortion, these hormones do not reach their last “maturing” stage and therefore can be very dangerous to the woman and increase her chance of breast cancer or even initiate breast cancer (Carbone 166). Some say since abortion clinics are now legal, abortions are safer. However, all it has done is allow doctors who performed illegal unsafe abortions in the past, the ability to perform legal unsafe abortions.

One prevalent argument for abortion is that if a female is raped she should be allowed to have an abortion. One of the most horrible things that the pro-abortion advocates have achieved is in convincing people that the babies of rape victims are unwanted and somehow disgusting because of the origin of their conception. People are often deceived into thinking that an abortion will erase the memory of being raped or that a baby will be a daily reminder of a horrible event in the victims’ lives.  William Norman Grigg reports in his essay “Rape Does Not Justify Abortion,” that studies have shown, however, that the women who have had an abortion after being raped have even more psychological problems, some of which they never recover from because of the traumatic experiences of both rape and abortion (136). Is it better to choose an abortion over adoption? No. Even though a girl may still have to carry a baby for nine months a human life is still the one natural and good thing that comes from rape. Aborting a baby that was conceived by rape simply perverts the unnatural situation even further. Rape is a terrible thing, but a baby is still a gift no matter what the circumstances.

The last and most important problem with abortion is that it kills people. When a sperm meets an egg the immediate result is fertilization. Neither a sperm nor an egg is considered a living organism, because they cannot sustain life and they do not grow. However the moment the sperm comes in contact egg to fertilize it, the embryo is a living organism, because a fertilized egg is a living growing organism (Gargaro 37).  Abortion is genocide. Every time a woman has an abortion she is murdering her baby, her own flesh and blood. People say that a baby in the womb is just a part of the mother and not a separate being, however even inside the womb a baby has its own blood type. If the mother’s blood mixes with the baby’s blood, the baby dies. How then can we say that a baby is not a human being? It is often said that abortion is not genocide because genocide is a “hate crime,” and abortion clinics do not dislike babies--they just have the mother’s best interests in mind. However according to Gregg Cunningham in his essay “Abortion is Genocid,e” the fact that abortion clinics do not dislike babies does not seem to be the case with clinics of South Dakota and Minnesota which have published the newspaper ad: “BABIES ARE LOUD, SMELLY, AND EXPENSIVE, UNLESS YOU WANT ONE. 1-800-230-PLAN”(57).  This is obviously a degrading statement about babies. In some states contradictorily, if a pregnant mother is killed in a car crash, the person who initiated the crash is charged with two deaths, but these states also declare that babies are not people. If a woman doesn’t want her baby then a woman that is pregnant can easily give her child up for adoption, which would mean giving different couple the chance to enjoy and love the person that she has created.

Abortion is unnatural and harmful to both women and babies. The American culture has come to undervalue life. If abortion is allowed to go on like this, it will make a gateway that might make other disgusting crimes seem less sinister, acceptable, or even encouraged. As explained above, babies are humans from the moment of conception, and to take the life of a human is wrong and repulsive. The line is too fine to say when a collection of cells is actually a baby or not; therefore, a baby is a human from the moment of conception. The abortion clinics also do not inform women about the consequences or effects of having an abortion which often causes great regret in a woman’s life. The abortion clinics also wrongly convince rape victims that their children will be a horrible reminder rather than a beautiful little baby that was created under unfortunate circumstances. In all, women need to be warned before they are undervalued or harmed by the severe effects of abortion.

Works Cited

Carbone, Leslie. “Abortion Harms Women.” Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Mary E. Williams.

San Diego: Greenhaven press, Inc., 2002. 164-168. Print

Cuningham, Gregg. “Abortion is a Form of Genocide.” Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Mary E.

Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven press, Inc., 2002. 54-57. Print

Gargaro C. Carolyn. “Abortion Violates Human Rights.”  Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Mary E.

Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven press, Inc., 2002. 36-44. Print

Grigg, William Norman. “Rape Does Not Justify Abortion.” Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Mary E.

Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven press, Inc., 2002. 135-141. Print

Portrait of a Male Nurse

Jerked from my own thoughts, I suddenly looked up and asked, “Hey, Dad, what’s the best choice you made when you were young?” Without a pause, he answered me, “I joined the Air Force” and laughed at himself a bit. Coming from my father, the answer I expected was a long-drawn out-pondering-each-side-and-not-making-judgments-quickly sort of an answer. I was surprised at his rare succinctness.  When reflecting on it later, I realized how connected my dad is to the Uniformed Services of America, and how his partnership with them has been a foothold in our family all of my life and has guided my dad in many of the important choices that he’s made in his life.

Kevin Elker was an eighteen year old boy from Moorhead, Minnesota with a high school diploma in one hand and few options ahead of him. He determined that he wanted to go to college, but his family was not well-off, and he knew that he would have to earn his own way. Like many teenagers, the obvious choice was to join the army, which offered to repay on his school loans. Kevin had always been a quirky person, and when he joined the army he told them that he had really enjoyed cooking in home economics class, so they appointed him as a cook. He was also a cook at a pancake house in town and worked his first nursing home job. After a year of hard work, Kevin packed up and made the short journey to Bemidji, MN, to study at Oak Hills Bible College, a tiny private school, where Kevin received an associate’s degree in Biblical studies. He told me that at the time he wanted to learn about what he believed, and he did—some, but in some ways, more importantly, he confided in me that he learned how to discuss things with people, understanding their thoughts about the world and how to explain your own thoughts to others. Funny enough, when he was studying meticulously for his nursing degree at Winona State University, one of his professors asked him in amazement after a long class, “Kevin, where did you learn to think like this?” My father answered candidly, “At Bible College, Professor."

After three years of hard studying in Winona, Kevin and his wife, Kristi, hopped into the car on graduation day and drove north, back to Bemidji.  Kevin strove determinedly in the winter wasteland of Bemidji, but when talking to me, he reminisced about his discouragement and discontent with his job as a nurse at the local hospital. However, several glorious things did happen during this time—the birth of his two children, Mackenzie in 1995 and Isaak in 1996.

Two and a half years later, the armed forces reentered his life, offering a new chance as a nurse in Dayton, Ohio. He took a leap, packed up his small family, and turned towards a new chapter of life. Kevin and his family lived on Air Force base housing, a grouping of small disheveled townhouses which formed close-knit, if very temporal, communities of people from many different races, jobs, and walks of life. Kevin explained a bit about the wonderful atmosphere that the Air Force can foster, saying, “In the Air Force, there are people of all different races and religions, yet people first and foremost consider themselves to be ‘army people.’ Because of this people view each other differently and put many of their personal prejudices aside.” During this time, Kevin met and worked with many different kinds of people, expanding his experience with people greatly. Although He lived in Ohio for only five years, he received two promotions, advancing from second lieutenant to first lieutenant and then again from first lieutenant to captain. Although Kevin’s time in Ohio was very valuable, it was not a permanent way to live. Kevin and his family made many close friends, but people never stayed put for long in the Air Force, and after five years he decided to move back to Minnesota where his family lived. The Air Force had helped him to make great strides in his career and would continue to do so back in Minnesota, if in an absolutely unexpected way.

When Kevin returned to Minnesota, settling in Rochester, a city known nationwide for it medical community, he did not apply for a job at the renowned Mayo Hospital. Nor did he take a job at St. Mary’s Clinic or Olmsted Medical Center. My father took a job at the prison.

Kevin’s current job, which is still a branch of the armed forces, The Uniformed Public Health Services, as a Wound Care Specialist at the Federal Medical Center, though a far departure from his other jobs at nursing homes and in care units, was perfectly suited to him. He has always had a great sense of humor, which he uses daily when dealing with difficult patients. My father said his favorite part of being a nurse is that, “It’s a wonderful blend of science and compassion.” At the prison, this takes on a whole new meaning. Many times, humor is his compassion. One of his most common responses to unresponsive patients is, “I’m not your mama.” Hardly a week goes by where a conflict is not resolved by singing some crazy song, such as “You just call, and I’ll be there...” Kevin’s methods are far from traditional, and yet strangely effective. The convicts always know what is expected.  Although his job has its quirks, it is also very rewarding to see a patient, who has had a very destructive diabetic foot ulcer or a pressure ulcer, heal after a long, grueling treatment.

Kevin has worked extremely hard to get to his current position, studying for three years in graduate school before receiving his Master’s Degree of Science in nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Because of his work in this area, he gained the expertise to do research in the field, which he has been able to apply to his practice. Kevin is definitely a man interested in learning more about his field, whether or not he’s studying for graduate school or doing personal research. His focus as a nurse is to help his patients to heal and help his staff to learn to do their job better. Most importantly, he knows that he doesn’t have all of the answers and keeps pushing for improvement at the Federal Medical Center, by communication clearly with those around him, sometimes firmly, sometimes humorously, but always with compassion, and this is what makes him, in his own humorous words, a priceless “male nurse.”

Unshackled

Come with me back in time two-hundred years. We’re standing on a busy cobble-stone street in Maryland.  Do you see the little black boy kneeling on the pavement, persuading some poor white children to teach him to read a few words in exchange for bread? Imagine again the boy in his master’s library, sneaking to read a forbidden book. Now watch him with his fellow slaves, laboring through the alphabet, risking punishment. Will you whisper in his ear, “You’re wasting your time”? Years pass, and now you lean over his shoulder to see the papers of a free man in his hand—a confident and literate free man. This former slave is Frederick Douglass, one of the first renowned African American speakers and writers.

It’s so tempting to take for granted the things that we have never been denied. Education is one of those things. Today, people forget that education is a privilege, not a prison. True education teaches students to think for themselves and to communicate those thoughts. If the purpose of education were only to get a diploma or degree, it would be a waste of time and money, but education isn’t a stamp on paper; it’s a pathway to freedom, opening our eyes to the world around us, to goodness, beauty, and change and also to poverty, injustice, and death. Unshackled from ignorance, we possess the power to improve our communities and, together, our world. Thankfully, education is within our reach today. I plan to seize it with gusto!