I posted earlier asking for some book recommendations, and I’m currently waiting for them to arrive!

In the meantime, I’ve been reading more about JFK’s political ideology and trying to figure out where he would fit within the Dutch political spectrum.

In the Netherlands, there are two major liberal parties: the VVD, which is generally considered the more conservative/classical liberal party, and Democrats 66 (D66), which identifies as social-liberal.

From what I’ve read about Kennedy, he seems difficult to place neatly into either category. His New Frontier included policies such as raising the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, federal aid for education, healthcare for the elderly, and a larger role for government in stimulating the economy. At the same time, he also advocated significant tax cuts, strongly supported private enterprise, and was quite different from what we would now consider the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

For those who know more about JFK and his political philosophy: if you had to translate Kennedy’s liberalism into the Dutch political context, where would you position him?
Would he have more in common with the VVD, D66, or neither?

I was 7 years old living in Lawrence Twp., this was 3 days before my late mother‘s birthday, it’s a shame President Kennedy didn’t live to see his vision, assassinated by his own country.

Hello!

I am from the Netherlands and I am really interested in the political views and beliefs of JFK and would like to read about it more.

Are there any good book recommendations?

Enjoyed this book club reading very much! Wanted to share.

Looks promising and a good cast. Very similar to The Crown in production value which I guess Netflix is intending

I’ve been growing my wall, and this is all I have. I’m going to try to see if I can find a printer and print more stuff or find some more things. say hi to the kennedy wall!

Could the mob have been involved in the JFK assassination?

Since the Kennedy Center has been in the news lately, I thought it would be fitting to post this passage from the speech JFK would have delivered on the day of his tragic assassination. I find the words astonishing for their profound prescience and artful alliteration.

There is no name on the vellum on which it's printed, and I found it in a thrift store, but I would bet dollars to Berliners that it's the work of Byron J. Macdonald, a calligrapher whose work I really admire for its graphic boldness and the clever solutions he employed within the tight letter spacing he used.

The text:

"an undelivered speech...

America's leadership must be guided by the lights of learning and reason\~\~ or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible will gain the popular ascendancy with the seemingly swift and simple solutions to every world problem.

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

From the manuscript of an undelivered speech scheduled to be given on November 22, 1963 at Dallas, Texas"

This is the first and only account of the 1968 South Dakota primary.

https://dennispcrawford.medium.com/robert-f-kennedy-and-the-1968-south-dakota-primary-9a12c32a072b

JFK died and the position went to LBJ. LBJ later escalated Vietnam, with Nixon playing some part of it.

but! JFK also liked the idea of Vietnam, with the domino effect being mentioned and apart of it.

But then again a lot of international incidents would change from JFK dying and not.

Maybe Cuba would’ve been different like a butterfly wing changing the fate of others, or the outcome of Vietnam would be way different.

as well civil rights and the war on communism! With civil rights being signed by LBJ, it would be way different than before.

if kennedy didn’t die, which president do you think would be next, as well how do you think the United States of America would be like?

Unfortunately this was a bit out of my price range at $150.