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>>SOUTHERN INDIANA — John F. Kennedy was a great president
John F. Kennedy is probably best known for the tough job of standing up to the Soviets in the 1962 missile crisis. He deserves credit and did an outstanding job.
Maybe less well-known is his standing up to Big Steel in its bid to raise prices which the economy could not sustain. For this, too, he deserves credit. What he should equally deserve credit for was his position — prior to the social upheaval of the 1960s and the implementation of the Great Society when people began believing the government should take care of us in total — on loss of pride, personal responsibility, common sense and accountability.
I’ll never forget when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
That meant, folks, help yourself, help your neighbor and help your country.
Though we were dirt poor, we took food to others in our neighborhood, on occasion, when they faced really tough times. My dad and others teamed together to repair a leaking roof, build a garage for a neighbor and so on.
Now we provide housing, food stamps, etc. With the current health care debate, doctors chipped in before the government stepped in and messed it up. I even remember a doctor coming to our house on a couple of occasions.
Now, with what’s on the table in Congress, we are progressively making it worse and progressively going deeper into debt.
What kind of lunacy drives Washington?
— John Krueger, Clarksville
