Fri 11/22
Last week, there was much conversation about President John F. Kennedy, remembering his promise and mourning his death, 50 years ago last Friday.
On a rainy morning last Friday, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, state representative Mike Foley, and Cleveland city councilmen Kevin Kelley, Marty Sweeney, and Martin Keane trekked to the east side to lay a wreath in Kennedy’s memory at the Irish Cultural Garden in Rockefeller Park.
While the local Irish politicians talked about the importance of Kennedy’s election to Irish families, Kaptur contrasted the famous words from Kennedy’s Inaugural address “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country,” with Ronald Reagan’s equally well-known words “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
She highlighted the divide today between those who believe their personal welfare comes first and those who believe that the collective welfare strengthens us all —suggesting why there’s so much nostalgia among so many for the Kennedy era.
