Why History? Why JFK?

   

     I don't think that there has been one day of my career as a teacher that I haven't heard someone ask, "Ms. Gibson, why are you SO fascinated by JFK?"  I always giggle and give some polite answer.  Usually something in the line of, "Well, I am not fascinated by JFK himself, it is more the time period."   Sure, I could bore them with the fact that I find the "Magic Bullet" theory a bunch of baloney.  I could also go into depth as to how the Warren Commission wasn't perfect, but got the general gist of the situation correct.  This would probably send them into a glassy eyed trance. **Although I have to note here, they LOVE their "Stump Ms. Gibson" contests we hold when there is time to spare on a slow day.   So I give them the quick, no nonsense answer I think they want to hear.

     I realize now that is probably a very generic and, probably, not all that true of an answer.  I just plain love history!  There is no rhyme or reason for it, it just IS!  I can explain myself this way, how can you MAKE this stuff up?!! All these horrific, wonderful, surprising, saddening, frustrating, and enlightening things REALLY happened.  These figures you see on your text page were real people---with real feelings, real mortaility, and real flaws.  I think what I love the most is the fact that it doesn't really matter WHO you are, you have the chance to achieve greatness if you truly believe.  You ,as a "regular Joe or Jane", have just as many hours in the day as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and (yes) even John F. Kennedy.  These were just individuals who chose to not waste those valuable 24 hours we all feel so constricted by.  (I have to remind myself of this often when I find myself complaining that I don't have enough time to do something.)

     I am not one who thinks everyone in history is fascinating.  The Guilded Age, for example...sends me into a slumber!  I just think that we are a HUGE global family with stories to tell and ideas to share.  You have your crazy Uncle Napoleon who has a real complex and thinks that he is greater than everyone else, even though he probably would need a phonebook to see over the steering wheel (to which I can relate).  You have your naughty Aunt Anne Boleyn who is kinda, well...skanky, but ends up losing her head for that really overweight, older Great Uncle Henry (probably so she can get some money).  You only find out later that he dumps her for a younger, more hip chick.  Then there is your Aunt Jacqueline.  She is classy, someone you look up to and wish you could be like.  She is aloof, shy, but there is just something about her that you find completely intriguing.  You also have people in your family that you would prefer not be a part of it, I won't mention them---but you know who they are.  They are those people who you spend time whispering about when  they are not in the room and NEVER mention in front company.  We hate to admit they exist, but inevitably someone always finds out they are your cousin.

     I don't know if I actually answered the question, WHY HISTORY?  WHY JFK?  I don't know if I ever could completely.  I just want my students,  my nieces/nephews, and the members of their generation to realize that they are going to be the ones writing the future historical account.  It is up to them whether or not they are apart of that account.  I might not be in a history book, but I am comfortable enough in my own abilities to realize that I have made an impact on the future in my own small way.