John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He had 5 sisters, 2 brothers, and his parents were named Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. JFK had a very interesting childhood. In the first six months after his birth, he was in and out of the hospital many times due to various illnesses such as whooping cough, measles, and chickenpox. Before he was even three years old he contracted scarlet fever, a life-threatening disease. When he was three, the Kennedy family moved from Brookline to be closer to Boston, Massachusetts. As John grew up, he experienced fewer illnesses. He attended Choate Boarding School where he made many friends and developed a fondness for sports, participating in basketball, football, tennis, and golf at high school. The spirit of competition was evident between him and his two brothers. After graduating, John attended Harvard University, the same institution his brother Joe had attended. During a football game at Harvard, John suffered a disc rupture in his spine which had lingering effects throughout his life. Shortly after graduating, World War II began and both John and Joe volunteered. John joined the Navy and his brother Joe trained as a pilot. ( JFK library.org)
According to JFK Library, while serving in the military, John was a lieutenant assigned to command a patrol torpedo boat in the South Pacific. His job was to seek out and destroy Japanese warships. During one mission, in which John commanded twelve men, a Japanese destroyer headed straight towards them at high speed. Despite his best efforts to swerve out of the way, their boats collided, splitting John’s boat in half, causing a fire, and taking the lives of two of his crew. The impact threw John around the cockpit, causing further injury to his already damaged back. After abandoning the sinking ship, John, clutching their life vests in his teeth, pulled some of the survivors to shore. Having carved an SOS message, they were found by two island natives and later rescued by a patrol boat. Tragically, a year later, John’s brother Joe was killed during a mission over Europe. As recognition of his courage and resilience, John was awarded several Navy and Marine Corps medals after returning home. Undecided about his future after the war, John ultimately decided to pursue a political career in honor of his late brother.
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According to millercenter.org, once Kennedy started his political career, he decided to run for Congress in Massachusetts. John won congress in Massachusetts in 1946, marking the start of his political career. A committed Democrat, John served three terms (six years) in the House of Representatives. In 1952, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Shortly after his election as a senator, John married a twenty-four-year-old woman named Jacqueline Bouvier at the age of thirty-six. Early into their marriage, John experienced increasing back pain and subsequently underwent two serious back surgeries. While recovering, he wrote a book called “Profiles of Courage.” Kennedy was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for this biography in 1957, the same year his first daughter, Caroline, was born. John’s popularity in politics began to grow exponentially. In 1956, he came close to being chosen to run as vice-president. Additionally, he started to dedicate long hours to his work and spent his weekends traveling around the United States. On July 13, 1960, John was nominated by the Democratic party. Kennedy requested Lyndon B. Johnson, a senator from Texas, to be his vice president. On November 8, 1960, in the general election, John defeated his Republican opponent, Richard M. Nixon, in a very close race. At 43, Kennedy was the youngest man ever elected president. He was also the first Catholic president. Also of note, Kennedy’s second child, John Jr., was born before his inauguration.
On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was sworn into the presidential office. In his inaugural speech, he urged all Americans to become active citizens and brought a youthful spirit to the White House with his wife and two children. The Kennedys believed the White House should be a place to celebrate the nation’s history, culture, and achievements. Despite being a very busy man, Kennedy always made time for his children and family. He deeply worried about a potential nuclear war with the Soviet Union and the spread of communism. Kennedy’s goal was to prevent another war, which led to the start of the Cold War. There were many instances, such as the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when a large-scale nuclear war and enormous loss of life seemed possible. President Kennedy typically woke up at seven a.m. and didn’t go to bed until eleven p.m. or midnight, working tirelessly to avert a nuclear apocalypse. Despite the Cold War, Kennedy was equally focused on domestic issues within the United States. He hoped to help more Americans find jobs, prompting him to found the Peace Corps, a still-existing organization offering jobs and aid in education, farming, health care, construction, and more. Eager to beat the Soviets in the space race, Kennedy received $22 billion from Congress for the space program. Kennedy also contributed significantly to the civil rights movement, passing numerous bills and initiatives, urging Americans to end racism, and declaring that all Americans, regardless of skin color, deserved to enjoy a peaceful life in the United States of America according to jfklibrary.org.
On November 21, 1963, President Kennedy flew down to Texas to give a number of political speeches. The following day, on November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was driving in his open-top motorcade in Dallas, Texas, and greeted the people on the streets. While driving, Lee Harvey Oswald shot from the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository, killing President John F. Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with his murder, but on November 24, 1963, he himself was murdered by Jack Ruby. (22november1963.org.uk)
John F. Kennedy was an influential president who led a remarkable life. Many mourned his death; many attended his funeral and millions watched it on their televisions. Though JFK’s time in the oval office was brief, his impact was substantial and he will always be remembered for his leadership, memories, and accomplishments. He was an optimist by nature, aiming to bring a positive change to America. He believed that it was possible for people to solve common problems by prioritizing the country’s interest first, by working together, and by helping their country. (jfklibrary.org)
Causes Of Terrorism In Modern World
Michael Mousseau argues that the economy is the driving cause of terrorism and believes that the lowest rung of economic ladder are most vulnerable to negative consequences associated with globalization. He discusses the three myths about terrorism since 9/11: (1) to win hearts and minds of people struggling, U.S. must signal friendly intentions, (2) terror can arise in the absence of democracy and U.S. should push for democratic change in developing countries, and (3) people who detest the U.S. only had greater exposure to American values their hatred would dissipate. Mousseau believes that there are two general approaches: rational and cultural explanations. I agree with his muthst about terrorism and how the U.S. should try to push for change, but at the same time I think that that can be extremely hard to do. It could possibly just cause more problems and more hatred toward the U.S.
In “Behind the curve” Cronin also believes that the economy is one of the driving causes of terrorism. She considers five reasons terrorist organizations can be dangerous to international security: (1) they struggle with good against evil; (2) their behavior will be direct or indirect; (3) they believe they are not limited to values or laws; (4) they are trying to replace the existing social system; and (5) they are worrisome because the support in civil society. I personally believe that economy isn’t the driving cause of terrorism. It definitely can be a part of terrorism because a lot of times a place that has a bad economy can take the biggest hits from a bigger group that has a good economy. I agree with her five reasonings as well because they point out how some groups believe that their values or laws are good, while others they believe are bad.
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In “Motives of Martyrdom” Assaf Moghadam says that suicide missions are one of the most lethal tactics by a terrorist group. Suicide attacks can be divided into four categories: (1) focus on individual bombers, (2) stressing group or organizational factors, (3) emphasizing sociocultural cases, and (4) suggest to integrate multiple levels of analysis. Moghadam criticizes Pape, and says “there are three reasons why foreign occupation doesn’t explain contemporary suicide missions” (Moghadam, 2009, p. 65). He also states how ideology can play a huge role in terrorism, but suicide terrorism will always be more complex than just that. I agree with how he present what suicide terrorism is and how they are divided into four categories. I also agree with how he say that terrorism will always be more complex and not just based on one specific thing.
In “What Terrorist Really Want” Abrahams believes there is a strategic model of terrorism. He states “The Strategic model rests on three core assumptions: (1) terrorists are motivated by relatively stable and consistent political references; (2) terrorists evaluate the expected political payoffs of their available options, or at least the most obvious one; and (3) terrorism is adopted when the expected political return is superior to those of alternative options” (Abrahams, 2008, p. 172). Abrahams talks about how there are seven puzzling tendencies of Terrorist Organizations. Abrahams also states how there is a supply-side and demand-side to counterterrorism. Supply-side is more of providing law enforcement or governments with terrorist organizations. Demand-side is more of trying to divide terrorism and reducing places of high demand terrorist attacks. I personally liked how Abrahams broke the seven strategies down and I agree with them, especially when he says that terrorism is never the last resort. Terrorism I feel will always be around in the world and if a group wants to get their point across they will go big first to try and get people’s attention.
In “Why Terrorism Does Not Work” Abrahams says that terrorist groups who attack civilians will never achieve their political goals but should focus on attacking opponents military instead of innocent civilians. He believes that when a terrorist group is fighting over territory they have two objectives: one reason is to get rid of a foreign military from another country and the second reason is to win control over a piece of land. He also believes that when a terrorist group is fighting over beliefs there are two objectives. One is to transform its beliefs to a different belief and the other is to completely destroy its values. Abrahams says that attacking civilians doesn’t work because they miscommunicate their objectives. The three cases that prove this: Russia 1999 apartment bombings, U.S. with 9/11, and Israel to Palestinian terrorism. I agree with this reading because I feel like a lot of times terrorist groups are attacking over specific beliefs and wanting to change a difference cultures opinions, but don’t succeed at all.
In “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” Pape believes that suicide terrorism is designed to achieve a specific political purpose or target a government to change their policy. Suicide terrorism usually stops once the political goals are reached. Pape believes that there are five principles to explain how terrorist organizations have assessed the effectiveness from 1980 to 2001. The first finding is that suicide terrorism is super strategic, usually random acts rather than in clusters. The second states that it is designed to achieve specific goals. The third findings is that suicide terrorism has been rising since they learned that it pays. The fourth finding states that it may fail but rely that it will inflict low to medium levels of punishment on civilians. The final finding state that to contain suicide, terrorists’ conficide must be reduced. I agree with what Pape is saying. Personally I think nowadays we see a lot more suicide terrorism compared to other forms of terrorism. I think terrorist use it more because it actually works and gets people’s attentions and even when a government or group tries to control terrorist groups from doing something bad, they can’t because when they use suicide terrorism it is hard for people to prevent suicide terrorism.
Samuel Huntington wrote “The Clash of Civilization and in it he believes that nation states will stay powerful actors in all world affairs, but there will always be conflicts between nations and groups of different cultures and civilizations. He thinks that we should base countries on their culture and not on their level of politics or their economics. Huntington believes that there will be eight cultures to clash in the future, Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin America and African, they will end up clashing because of their different religious views. The world is becoming smaller place which means the interactions between cultures are increasing. I agree with what Huntington says on who the different religious views will cause them to clash. A lot of times I feel like groups try and force their views on other groups or cultures and when that group doesn’t agree it makes them resort to terrorism.
There are four main reasons for terrorism: economic beliefs, ideology, political, and fighting over land. I personally believe that when a group uses terrorism is it because their political or religious beliefs is what motivates them to do these acts more than the other two. I personally think that Pape has good reasonings why terrorist groups would use suicide terrorism and I think that Huntington has good reasoning why civilizations will end up crashing, because of the different cultures and religious views. One reason I believe that terrorist groups also use terrorism is because they want the power that comes with it. They want to give people a reason to follow them and to be on their side. One way they can get other people to follow them is by making them fearful and using terrorism can cause that fear to gain the support or supporters they want.
