50 Year Anniversary of Kennedy Swearing-In

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

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On a cold day a young, untried but inspired president-elect was sworn in ... sound familiar?  Although this inauguration was 50 years ago, not the recent swearing in of Barack Obama.

7 of 10 Americans were not born on the day JFK was inaugurated.

"We observe today, not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom."

He was the first Roman Catholic President with a younger staff than ever before - also familiar?

There was youth and glamour, in the form of the new first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.  The day was celebrated with a rush of celebrities who descended on D.C.

Bathed in brilliant winter light, the words of that young president was his primary goal, to deliver a speech that would assuage his skeptics and declare his ability to lead.

Signature lines ...

• The torch has been passed to a new generation.
• And so my fellow Americans, ask not what you country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. 
• Bear any burden ...
• Long twilight struggle.
• Now the trumpet summons us again.
• Let us never negotiate out of fear ... but let us never fear to negotiate.

Despite unsavoury revelations, the Kennedy presidency is loved regardless ... it was a promise of hope violently interrupted.