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-John F. Kennedy, 'Profiles in Courage', 1955
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Students Sought Fun;
KK Show Provides It
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A MAN
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Wednesday, December 6, 1963
HIS COUNTRYMEN:
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A shot rang out, another and another, John Fitzgerald
Kennedy was hit, then slumped to his death.
We loved him, hut for some love has no depth.
Nebraska honored Mr. Kennedy with a conference
championship. We respected him in an aftermath of
drunkenness.
The Governor asked the University not to play, but
the game went on. Some did not care to see the game.
Television, however, played a dirty trick on those who were
mourning the president's death. The announcer said Satur
day afternoon: "We respect each viewer's opinion but we
decided to televise ..."
But then what is behind television, but men.
John Kennedy's administration functioned in an differ
ent environment, than did any of its predecessors. The
same television networks that brought us news of his death
and its ramifications, the three preceding years brought us
to know Kennedy better than any other chief executive.
By means of television, we saw John Kennedy nomi
nated and elected. He set a precedent with live press con
ferences. He faced the nation during times of crisis. We got
to know him well.
Termed a vast wasteland during the '50's, television
took; on a new complexion during the '60s. News coverage
gained depth the problems of government were made
vivid to a generally unstimulated public. And interest mul
tiplied. V"1 :';?:.. - i
We got to know this man, Kennedy.
John .Kennedy was different from his predecessors.
Excluding .the usual reciprocal partisan haggling which
stifles one's thinking, Kennedy had some rather stiff ideals
the upgrading of society, the "vindication of right," not
the Victory of might; and defense of the God-given human
right of equality. -. , .
In politicking he kept these goals clearly in mind,
and ihey were coming to the attention of Greater Ameri
ca. V '
As one columnist put it: "John Kennedy knew his na
tion was born not of an accident of history but of an act
of Intelligence; the triumph of men who studied seriously,
spoke articulately, wrote fearlessly, debated rationally,
and concluded intellegently."
Above' all;' Kennedy knew that intelligence was the key
to putting his words into action. He gathered a group of
intellectual advisors around him. We called them "egg
heads," and scoffed. We mocked him for giving several
positions, his appointment secretary and his special Con
gressional liaison, to Boston friends. We called them the
"Irish Mafia" We underestimated a man with a method.
Kennedy said: "a man does what he must . . .,"
and he was in the process.
Some respected Kennedy.
Some did not.
All should have mourned his passing.
GARY LACEY
On Kennedy Assassination
Swedish Girl: A Flame Of Intelligence
Is Dark; A Great Promise Is No More
By Britt-Marle Thnren
Lund, Sweden A very
personal comment. Any
thing else would be impos
sible so soon afterwawls,
and also It means a lot to
me personally. '
Never will I forget that
the night John F. Kennedy
died, I spent hours and
hours discussing politics
and could not get away from
it. A boy from South Africa
was drinking tea with me.
He was a Communist, but
we had managed to be
friends anyway. Now, all of
a sudden we got mad at
each other whatever we (
said, and although we tried
to bring up new topics, ev
erything "turned into poli
tics. Neocolonialism, west
ern militarism, the stupidity
and resulting lethargy of
capitalism.
Suddenly my door was
torn without a knock. A
neighbor girl stood there,
W hair standing ud and
her eyes wide open. She
stammered in English,
"You know Kennedy is
murdered." My first
thought was that it was a
Joke, but I jumped at the
radio and heard the voice
of our Prime Minister Er
lander slowly muttering
something about an incal
culable loss to the whole
world. It was nine tldrty
(central European time)
and Kennedy had been dead
for one hour. ,
'
The three of us just sat
In front of the radio, stupi
fied. Someone said, "I
thought political murders
were old fashioned." The
African boy said, "It is ter
rible, yes, it is terrible
will the reactionaries take
over now?" I said, "I hope
oh, I am almost sure it
must have been a reaction
ary, that is a rightist fanat
ic, who did it." The other
girl said, "Yes, thty said it
happened in the South. Mrs
Kennedy saw it, too." Then
the radio gave, some more
details and started playing
sad music.
It was hard to sleep that
night. The shock of a thing
so unexpected, made me
think of how easily it can
happen that one day I turn
on my radio and they say
the third World War has
broken out. A stupid thought
in this context, maybe, but
it shows how confusingly
deep the news affected me.
And I am speaking for my
countrymen in this, too.
Next day, most conversa
tions ran like this, "Hi,
what do you think?"
"HI, yes, isn't it terrible!"
I imagine it was pretty
much the same in the
United States. Kennedy
once said he was a Berlin
er. That night, in a sense,
all of Europe was Ameri
can. Kennedy was a repre
sentative of everything that
Europe likes to think of as
the best of America: new
thinking, courage, ability to
act, non-compromising but
yet ready to listen to ad
vice. And all these virtues
payed off. The world looks
infinitely better now than
Letters
Bitter Rind
Dear Editor:, 1 ;
The people' of '.. the state
of Nebraska, as well as the
student body and the ad
ministration of the Univer
sity of Nebraska, are to be
congratulated on an exhibi
tion of equanimity and forti
tude in a period of national
disaster. Indeed, each and
every one of those citizens
who set aside grief and sor
row and overcame the shock
and horror aroused by the
incident in D a 1 1 a s on No
vember 22nd, has proved
that the human spirit is in
domitably resurgent.
The presence and particip
pation of so many thousands
of people when the stirring
victory of Nebraska over
Oklahoma was achieved,
three years ago, even if
many bad incidents have
occurred during that time.
But to many of us, Ken
nedy meant even more. He
was an intelligent man, and
he stayed with intellectual
ism, he never let his feel
ings carry him away.
Really intelligent people so
seldom bother with politics
and as dirty as they us
ually are, this is under
standable. And those few
who try to improve politics
are mostly laughed at by
the demagogues and bus
iness politicians. But here
was a man who reached
power in spite of his intel
ligence, and the power
seemed to sharpen it in
stead of taking away h i s
integrity. He gave us proof
that logic is not completely
obliterate and useless in this
world of ours.
And to me, as one who
wants to "like America al
though it is very difficult
at times, he was proof that
the United States society is
not as dull, conformist and
naive as is often said such
a society could never have
produced a man like Ken
nedy, much less elected him
its leader. Now, what will
happen? Everything back
to the old again? Especial
ly the thought of the com
ing election scares me.
Saturday, the papers con
tained hardly anything but
the murder. The Sunday pa
pers were also stuffed with
it, for now the pictures and
CLb HAND
argues convincingly that not
even the shameful death of
a President of the Ameri
can 'Republic can diminish
the loyalty and dedication
that i was manifest in the
football stadium of this Uni
versity on the afternoon of
November 23rd.
What stronger evidence
could there be that this is a
nation dedicated to the con
cept ' of individual liberty?
Like those persons who
promptly objected to the re
cent lack of light entertain
ment on television screens,
the players, officials, and
spectators of the Oklahoma
Nebraska conflict were in
sisting on the individual's
inalienable right to react as
he damn well pleases and
maintain personal v a 1 u t
come hell, high water, or
more detailed information
had reached us. And to my
horror, it seems like it is
not a rightist fanatic who
killed , him, but a Commu
nist. It is perhaps all right
in so far as it makes those
people silent who say Ken
nedy helped Communism
I mean left overs from Mc
Carthyism. But on the other
hand, it would have been so
healthy, I think for your na
tion as a whole, if the John
Birch Society or the Ku
Klux Klan had been public
ly and strongly disgraced.
. . . .What is this now?
In writing this, it was time
for news, so I turned on my
radio, and a reporter is talk
ing about how Oswald is
taken to the hospital. Now
he goes on to talk, about
Kennedy's lit de parade. I
think the world is upside
down. Now the radio report
er, talking from Washing
ton, describes how he
watches American TV, and
that Oswald was shot down
in jail!
Honestly I feel sick. I
cannot write more, I just
want you to know that the
signs of sorrow from all
over the world are not just
official condolences. Politi
cal leaders of Sweden have
difficulties controlling their
voices,. when they speak in
memorial radio programs.
And most of my friends
feel the same shiver in their
bones.
A flame of intelligence is
dark. A great promise is no
more. '
ncenn Over
the death of John F. Ken
nedy. Play now and mourn
later is consistent with be
lief that the individual is
free to set his own course
and live his own life.
Individual liberty, above
all, is the keystone of de
mocracy. Obligation to re
spect and reverence the per
son of pronouncement of du
ly constituted authority, to
defer to the preference of
the majority, to follow a line
of conduct arbitrarily decid
ed by others, such as a de
cree of mourning, is not
recognized by those who
claim the individual's right
and privilege to be uncondi
tionally free. Individual
freedom must be secured,
at any price, even if that
price is the blood of a Presi
dent as it was when the as
sassin claimed his right to
act as a free individual.
Where is the dividing line
between freedom and an
archy? At what point does
protest destroy rather than
serve democracy? Are as
sassination and murder the
logical outcome of beliefs
prevalent in this day and
age? When personal opin
ion, personal values, tend to
be mistaken for civil liber
ties and human rights, and
the criteria of judging right
and wrong are based on
relativist ethics and person
al indulgence, the effective
ness of democratic action
cannot fail to be abridged.
Such practices diminish the
American heritage and deny
the dignity and significance
of a man whose spirit was
a flame by which the world
is warmed and enlightened.
That flame, unfortunately,
will not illuminate the tri
umphal procession of t h e
Cornhuskers into the Orange
Bowl.
Marceine Sweetser
"Tacit OK"
Dear Editor:
How does Goldwater feel
about the John Birch Soci
ety? Mr. Lacey: "The man
will not say whether he is
affiliated with the John
Birch Society, nor will he
comment against it."
Mr. Recker: The Senator
has stated he is not a mem
ber and while he strongly
disapproves of Mr. Welch,
he cannot find fault with
their goal of fighting Com
munism. Goldwater has
stated his belief that t h e
John Birch Society should
have a right to exercise
their constitutional right of
freedomm of aociation as
well as the ADA Ameri
c a n s Jor Democratic Ac
tion) or the John Birch's
counterpart on the radical
left.
These two statements ap
pear contradictory. They
are not. (1) Goldwater is
By Mary Lynne Davis
University students
flocked to Pershing Audi
torium Saturday night, No
vember 23, for the 196 3
Komic Kapers, the annual
fall show sponsored by the
Kosmet Klub, despite t h e
thrilling victory of the
Cornhuskers over the Okla
homa and the tragedy which
had befallen the nation the
day before. These students
were seeking good enter
tainment, and they found it
in abundance in the form
of four skits put on by var
ious fraternities and four
assorted traveling acts.
The Kappa Sigma frater
nity began the show with
a skit which won second
place honors, a crowdpleas
er entitled "It Just Isn't
Done." This skit featured
students la
menting in
song N e
braska con
servatism; everyone want
ing reforms but no one oar
ing to be first in initiating
these changes. A group of
surfers finally convinced
them of the merits of a care
free life, and the skit ended
in a surfing song which
showed the hidden talents
of the Kappa Sigs to good
advantage.
Following this skit was a
singing group who called
themselves the TR-3's and
who harmonized on a num-.
not a member of the Birch
Society true. But is he af
filiated with it? To what ex
tent is he controlled by it?
How much in campaign con
tributions has he accepted
from it? He will not say.
(2) Disapproval of Welch
is not disapproval of the So
ciety, nor, and this is sig
nificant, is approval of their
aims, approval of the or
ganization. Most cogent op
position to the Society cen
ters around its methods. No
loyal American would dis
agree with its aim of fight
ing communism or would
wish to deny them the
right of free association..
Yet these statements con
stitute Goldwater's evalua
tion of the John Birch So
ciety. A Society whose hall
mark is uninformed irres
ponsibility. A society which,
by his lack of relevant com
ment, Barry Goldwater has
tacitly approved!
Jim Steinman
They Played
Dear Editor:
- And did they really play
football on the day after the
tragic assassination of a
great president, while all
the world mourned? Did
people attend? Was there
cheering and rejoicing?
Would such a spectacle have
been conceivable if the vic
tim had been President Ei
senhower? The death of President
Kennedy produced stunned
disbelief. What Nebraska
Republicans are capable of
does the same.
John Winkelman
The Most
Dear Editor:
- Oh look, look! It is an
authentic Jack (Joe's broth
er) College with his dark
shoes, dark socks, dark ta
pered slacks, Madras belt,
button down collar, tapered
blue shirt, blue ski jacket,
weeds, and shades. Gee he
is the most! I bet he is a
finalist for Mr. Bi-Weekly,
king of the hop.
Oh, he is the most!
Oh, he is a crib rat (or
DBG, depending on his
years of existence.)
Oh, he has patche on his ski
jacket.
Oh, he is the most!
BINGO
The Daily
BERGFR RAOT PFBwba'xS.? mw dllor SUSAN SMITH
K mabv JSWESf PARTSCH, aenlor 1aff writers; LARRY
a write MvLKN4aUK.2nE,LL' JEHKY HOFFERBER. Junior
Subscription rate. $3 per semester or $5 per year
undn',hr,e.ct'o.,AC'4a,"19l?aUer PW" "ict ta Llncoln' Neb"8ka:
WedlMdii"'lThS?,!iroi,"1& .'" pub.",h.',d, ' nom Student Union, on Monday.
Jurisdiction' J uS vJV J?y University of Nebraska itudent! under the
.hall hi he? .1 ut Subcommittee on Student Publication.. Publication!
"'invert, MeKr. ftMpft lhl Subcommittee or any person out.lde the
to be printed Nebraskan are responsible (or what they cause
ber of folksongs and bal
lads to the accompaniment
of a rather weird-looking in
strument. The Delta Upsilon skit
featured "The Hag Behind
the Flag," the story of a
stripper who designed the
first American flag and
came to be known as Mrs.
Bety Ross, the patriotic
woman with a hidden past.
The Sigma Phi Epsilon
traveler act followed this,
entitled "Maud Fritchard
visited." It presented three
accounts of the landing of
a Martian in a flying sauc
er, with a humorous climac
tic confrontation of the Mar
tian himself.
During the brief intermis
sion, the Steve Joynt Com
bo provided music, as they
had done for a time before
the start of the show.
Intermission over, the
program resumed with the
Phi Kappa Psi's presenta
tion of "The Story Behind
the Man in the Brooks
Brothers Blazer," a salute
to the fashionable dresser
which featured a best-dressed-man's
fashion
show.
The Four Eps, a quar
tet which won first place in
the traveling act competi
tion, entertained with an
enjoyable group of songs
which included an impres
sion of an English singing
(Continued on Page 3)
yomme
Shocked!
Dear Editor:
The whole world was
mourning on the sudden
death of the President Johr,
F. Kennedy who was killed
by an assassin's bullet in
Dallas, Texas. The United
States lost the beloved
President and the world lost
a statesman.
I was terribly shocked by
the unpatriotic, inhuman,
unsympathetic, and ironic
act by the Board of Re
gents of the University of
Nebraska that the football
game was on schedule on
Saturday when the whole
world was mourning the
death of the President. If
this is the consideration of'
the leaders of the nation I
can predict that the fall of
the nation is near.
Robert Mintosh
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THAT LITTLE
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IF SHE CAME
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SHE SA(d ME L00KIN6 ATHER!
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WHArU.IP(??(UHATU.IOfl?
Nebraskan
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