â??The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.â? President Kennedyâ??s words were aimed at the World War II generation, but as Millennials, we watched the month-long fanfare surrounding the anniversary of his assassination through a different lens. Although our generation too has been â??tempered by war,â? and â??disciplined by a hard and bitter peace,â? we do not share the hopes, dreams, and frustrations of that bygone era. Kennedy bequeathed us a different legacy.
From his inaugural address, in which he announced the passing of the torch, to â??Ich bin ein Berliner,â? American political rhetoric has been indelibly stamped by a man who held the nationâ??s highest office for just over one thousand days. But in the years since, the nature of political speech has also been profoundly transformed by the image and the sound bite. The famous televised debate between Senator Kennedy and Vice President Nixon is remembered primarily for heralding this new era. Ironically for us, to watch this event today is not to see the beginning of something new, but the loss of something old and precious: the art of political debate.
In the Kennedy-Nixon match-up, we see on display two statesmen going toe-to-toe on the merits of differing political ideologies. Kennedy asserts: â??the question before us is which point of view and which party we want to lead the United States.â? Nixon then says that he differs from his opponent in how the country ought to move forward: â??Where we disagree is in the means that we would use to get the most out of our economy.â? It was not a matter of each candidate convincing listeners â?? and television viewers â?? that he possessed the correct set of "facts," but rather convincing them that he had the right vision for the country, given the facts.
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