Jacqueline Kennedy’s words in Dallas in 1963 foreshadow today’s America

While war rages around the world, it’s sad to reflect on the events 60 years ago when president John F Kennedy, only weeks after making his famous peace speech, was assassinated in Dallas (“The Kennedys: Camelot chameleons”, November 22). For those of us old enough to remember where we were on that day (I was just 7 years old at my family home in Balgowlah) the event now seems almost biblical in nature. Whether there was one gunman or more, the conspiratorial gives way to the greater concept of collective guilt. In words that resonate and have meaning even for today’s events, Jacqueline Kennedy, covered in blood, was reported to have said “let them see what they have done”. Steve Forsyth, Wagga Wagga

Illustration: John ShakespeareCredit:

On November 22, 1963, this young boy awoke to the news that president Kennedy had been killed by an assassin’s bullet. The charismatic Kennedy exuded confidence and competence. He argued for compassion and caring. He gave America a vision for the 1960s, perhaps culminating in the moon landing in July 1969 which he never saw. He was the antithesis of the spectacle being played out now with the uninspiring Joe Biden at the helm lining up against the bumptious Donald Trump, both seeking a second term in the Oval Office. Oh, for two Kennedy-like candidates to arise, one each for the Democrats and the Republicans, and for them to battle it out based on a vision for the future. Ian Morison, Forrest (ACT)

Gerald Posner’s book Case Closed definitively resolved the mystery of JFK’s murder showing day-by-day and minute-by minute how Lee Harvey Oswald perpetrated the crime. Despite this, a conspiratorial atmosphere envelops the event to this day. It typifies a United States where extremists like Trump and his asinine followers are taken seriously by a disturbingly large proportion of the populace. Notwithstanding Caroline Kennedy’s impressive ambassadorship here, the readiness of so many US citizens to even consider such irrationalism exemplifies the “bewildering” aspect of Camelot that Nick Bryant talks of, rather than the “enthralling”. Ron Sinclair, Windradyne

I came across one example of how politics has become an “arena for uncommonly angry minds” as described by Bryant while standing outside a pre-polling booth at Windsor on the run-up to the recent Voice referendum. After saying I was breaking the law for standing next to a Yes corflute an angry middle-aged man then claimed: “Anyway the whole thing’s been rigged in favour of a Yes vote”. When I made the mistake of asking, “Who by?” he shouted “Bill Gates!” Nick Franklin, Katoomba

Bryant captured the essence of a charismatic young president, who aspired to turn the White House into a latter-day Camelot. Yet it is an indulgence to continue to mythologise him. His epitaph? “I saw a shooting star go by/It blazed a path across the sky/But the beauty did not last, no/Some things just happen all too fast.” Mike Fogarty, Weston (ACT)

I heard via radio of JFK’s assassination when, having a six-weeks-old baby son, I was hanging out the washing in far west Trangie. Such are memories, and such that forlorn day’s inescapable sense of our innocence having left us, without a single warning. Rosemary O’Brien, Ashfield

Could doggy Medicare be next for our pampered pooches?

Shane Wright makes a good point that the feds should not be pork-barrelling via dog parks (“Taxpayer cash going to the dogs”, November 22). I love dogs, but their elevation to the status of children has been happening slowly over the past 20 years. It’s not uncommon to see dogs carried by owners. Somehow they also require specific nutrients at various stages of their short lives, not to mention expensive surgery for things such as joint operations or cataracts. Next thing people will want to put them on Medicare or give them the vote. Michael Tayar, Abbotsford

Your writer rightfully wishes the Commonwealth would stop spending money on dog parks and cemeteries because “nowhere in the Constitution does it stipulate the federal government should be building dog dropping dispensers”. As he points out, the expenditure is purely driven by vote-buying using something for which the Commonwealth does not have constitutional power. It’s the same as funding for private schools. Steven Lee, Faulconbridge

Going to the dogs.Credit: Andrew Dyson

Rather than jumping up and down about taxes being wasted on dog parks, we should wonder why. We all know local governments provide essential services while operating on a low taxpayer funded basis. Since dog parks aren’t strictly essential but are nonetheless appreciated by users, this is a roundabout way of ensuring critical funding isn’t diverted from waste collection, local roads, etc. No doubt the federal government sees dog parks as a relatively cheap form of receiving kudos given the millions of dog owners across the nation. But it’s not just a cynical vote grabbing exercise. As with providing financial assistance for cemeteries, it’s an indirect way of helping local councils perennially strapped for cash. Alternatively, the nation’s tax sharing arrangements could be revisited. Margaret Johnston, Paddington

I think dog parks have tacitly been funded by the federal government since Gough Whitlam through the federal assistance grants to local councils based on taxpayer income. However, the federal member can’t put up a funding sign or do a LinkedIn post from a generalised fund. So having a line in the federal budget means you can take the reflected glory even if it is for providing bags for responsible dog ownership. Now there is a euphemism that resonates with federal politics. John Dinan, Cheltenham

I hid the Herald from Pluto, our shepherd, so that he doesn’t read of the federal government’s spending splurge on dogs. Pluto has been demanding airconditioning for his kennel for the summer. I don’t want him barking at the local member’s door demanding cash - it does get quite hot here. Manbir Singh Kohli, Pemulwuy

Greater cities, more homes

Sydney needs the Greater Cities Commission – the body the Minns Labor government plans to abolish (“Greater Cities Commission axed in push for higher housing targets”, November 22). It holds government and developers accountable. That is essential in our city, where we can see substandard buildings and suburbs where providing amenities for those who live in them took second place to profits, which were constructed by developers that had free rein.

Planning Minister Paul Scully might think the demise of the GCC will remove “duplication and overlay” in the planning system. Instead, it would remove the GCC’s role in taking politics out of development and putting the real needs of people first. The commission encourages transparency and collaboration between the various agencies in our whole city area. Developers will be celebrating if the government succeeds in this action. Bernadette Foley, Kings Cross

As well as ensuring a sufficient number of new homes are built in the inner city, the Minns government must, if it is serious, prevent the diminution of existing housing. Two proposed developments in my area will, if approved, result in three buildings containing 27 separate, and relatively affordable, apartments being replaced with six luxury living spaces. It’s a trend across the eastern suburbs, and you don’t need to be Eddie Woo to know it just doesn’t add up. Ross Duncan, Potts Point

Fast train fix

I am convinced your correspondent is right: we should “focus on fast trains not high rises” (Letters, November 22). When I visited Toronto, our sister city in Canada, recently, the convivial green, low and medium-density city was gone. Why? Our bus driver explained it was because “it took the young people too long to get to work in the city”. Ah, the penny dropped. If it takes too long to get in and out of the city then developers move in and build high rises. Problem solved. And who wins? The developers. And who loses? The people who can no longer enjoy fresh air, nature and conviviality, to name just a few of the amenities we could very well lose. We have been warned. Stephanie Short, Woy Woy

Residential with commercial development currently exists over St Leonards and other stations, and the fast train north-south would be welcomed. But Transport NSW would do better to plan for ample parking stations above existing railway stations to enable better use of existing public transport, with reduction in road use and the need for more costly road infrastructure. Brian McDonald, Willoughby

Selective segregation

Your editorial suggests that it is no longer acceptable to segregate students on the bases of gender, race, culture or socioeconomics (“Teaching gender equality if hard in single-sex schools”, November 22). However, perhaps the most common basis of segregation in our school system is that of socioeconomic status, with the proliferation of publicly funded private schools which may further discriminate based on religion, gender issues, behaviour and more. Within the public system, it is considered acceptable, laudable even, to segregate based on ability to pass the opportunity class and selective schools exams. Why? Jennifer Killen, St Peters

Climate won’t wait

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen admits that on present trends the world is headed for almost three degrees of heating since pre-industrial times (“Bowen defends ‘incremental’ climate action as progress”, November 22). This will make large areas of Earth either very uncomfortable or expensive to live in. It will also cause enormous melting of the polar icecaps, along with sea level rise, coastal erosion, and inundation of densely populated, and food-producing land, as well as a huge increase in climate refugee numbers. However, Bowen insists that Australia will continue to use natural gas (methane) as fuel. Methane burns to produce water vapour and carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, and is itself a global-warming gas up to 83 times more potent than CO2. Methane is also very prone to leakage, particularly during the fracking process used to extract it, but also in its transport and distribution. Methane is not the answer: it seems Bowen and the Albanese government are being held captive by the ravenous gas industry. Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin (ACT)

Illustration: Matt GoldingCredit:

Under its Paris obligations, Australia must in the next two years declare a more ambitious emissions target for 2035. This is an opportunity to put a date on ending Australia’s export of coal and gas. Currently, the policy is to sell as much coal and gas as we can for as long as we can. Announcing in 2025 a 10-year window to cease these exports would be more than enough time to take practicalities and contractual arrangements into account. An end date is better than no date to cease the export of these pollutants. Dennis O’Hara, Wanniassa (ACT)

While there may be some outside chance that our nation may be sourcing 82 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, we will still be exporting vast quantities of fossil fuels that will simply generate carbon dioxide elsewhere. Global warming is exactly that. Regardless of where the fuel is consumed, all will suffer the consequences. Roger Epps, Armidale

Little gave a lot

Dr Miles Little was instrumental in saving my life, twice (“Visionary surgeon at Westmead Hospital” Obits, November 22). After I drove a car off the Menangle Bridge, near Camden, in 1963, I was flown by air ambulance to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. When I arrived, Dr Miles Little was on duty as the surgical registrar. He and his team operated on me for almost eight hours and, as a result, saved my life.

Even though I was then barely 19, he also was the first person to tell me that I was an alcoholic. This is because, after I was switched from a lengthy stay in ICU, I pulled the drips out of my arm and headed to a pub in my pyjamas. Dr Little came to my bed and said, “You are an alcoholic, Ross. Unless you stop drinking, you’ll soon be dead. I strongly suggest you attend Alcoholics Anonymous.” Even though I didn’t get sober in AA until 1970, I never forgot these words.

Dr Little was also a fine poet. When my first book, The Eyes of Angels, was published in 1973, I went to RPA to thank him. He was so pleased that I was still alive. When I gave him a copy, he said, “I’ve just had a book published. There’s no poetry in this one, but there’s plenty of you!” It was about the eight most significant operations Dr Little had performed, including photographs of my insides! If I remember rightly, it was titled Liver Trauma. I am forever grateful to this visionary surgeon and wonderful human being? Ross Fitzgerald, Redfern

Winners can be losers

Since about 4am on Monday, as an Australian, I have been trying to think how an Englishman would classify Australia’s cricket World Cup win (“The ’60s pop song and stats guru behind Australia’s great gamble”, November 22). Given every expert and keyboard warrior predicted India would, and should, win the final, the result must be wrong. I will therefore have to declare our win as a moral loss. Bernie Bourke, Ourimbah

Published pride

It would be a good idea if the Herald issued badges, caps or T-shirts with “I made it in letters” and offered them to writers who have, or had, more than at least six letters published annually (Letters, November 22). Edward Loong, Milsons Point

I would also wear an “I’m a letter writer” badge but mine would need to state I used to be a regular but most of my letters go unpublished now. Margaret Grove, Concord

My doctor regards my letter writing as part of my ongoing therapy. Genevieve Milton, Dulwich Hill

My ultimate life achievements – our wonderful family and two letters to the Herald in one day. Kate Chivers, Epping

A couple of years back, letter-writing friend John Payne of Kelso and I had adjoining letters published. Then, at 8am, we hit off after one another at Bathurst Golf Club. Bob Dillon, Bathurst

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