Recently, I was thinking about the Kennedy assassination, and I realized, what if all this conspiracy theory stuff about Cuba and the Bay of Pigs and its relationship to Oswald and the assassination was all just false. What if Oswald was just a sick person, who managed to pull off one of the most legendary assassinations? What if Jack Ruby really was just a disgruntled man, who in his passion shot and killed Oswald? Maybe we don’t have to dive into this murky area, because the answer is right in front of us.
First off, what are the odds that the CIA really wanted to nearly assassinate Kennedy. It’s true that they did have a lot of power and ambition. However, I feel like all those ex-CIA agents, like the characters the Don DeLillo writes about in Libra just wouldn’t exist. I feel like someone would at least get suspicious off their activities. After all, they must have a risk attached to them, and I am sure there must be checks and balances within the CIA. Then we have Lee Harvey Oswald. I feel like the spy thing that DeLillo writes him as couldn’t be true. The thing is that if all the things that DeLillo writes about Oswald being this triple agent was true, Oswald would have been much more carefully monitored, and wouldn’t have had a chance to shoot Kennedy. I just feel as though Oswald was just a man who suffered some kind of trauma during his stay in the Marines, and was just sick in the mind. Then we have Jack Ruby. Is it really a surprise that he shot Oswald? I feel that DeLillo is really pushing things with this conspiracy and setup stuff. I actually think that someone was bound to shoot Oswald. After all, we have crazy fans who murder their favorite music artists. It really isn’t much of a stretch to say that someone get really passionate, and decided to take matters into their own hands.
Overall, we may never know what really happened on November 11, 1963. There is just too much evidence and circumstance and people for us to really know what happened. Maybe some of those conspiracy theories were right. Maybe it was a time traveler who killed Kennedy to prevent a dark future. The world may never know. All we are left with are our thoughts and beliefs.
I think this is partly what DeLillo is trying to point out with his novel. Even though there is so much information out there, there are still gaps and he has to make up characters. Branch, who is spending his life on research also feels like there is too much and he is still not able to come to a conclusion. No matter what happened, there are pieces that we will never be able to explain or recover.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I will say that I don't think it was entirely impossible for the CIA to plan the assassination of JFK just because the CIA has done many similar things to other leaders as well so in my opinion it seems like a valid theory, though you're right that we can never know.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an interesting point. Sometimes, we try to look way to deep into things that are really just surface level. The reality could be extremely boring - I guess it's just the mystery that attracts us.
ReplyDeleteYeah, maybe Lee was just a crazy lone guy. But I do think there are too many weird things to assume he acted alone and there's just too much evidence. The LBJ thing about him wanting to be president is a weird but plausible solution. Cool post
ReplyDeleteThere's a weird kind of reversal in this blog post, where you present the *official government story*, after an extensive and extremely detailed Senate committee investigation chaired by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as a "what if it were true?" It's a measure of how far conspiracy thinking has infiltrated this story that you have to present the official story in the tone of, "Come on, guys, bear with me, I know it sounds crazy, but . . . maybe Oswald acted alone!"
ReplyDeleteI will note, however, that DeLillo doesn't posit "the CIA" as being behind the conspiracy, as an institutional level--he's got rogue agents pursuing unauthorized plans, taking advantage of Agency resources with no permission. It is plausible to imagine such a thing, and agents have "gone rogue" before--it's certainly more plausible than a scenario where, like, Vice President Johnson confers with the head of the CIA and gives direct orders that proceed down the chain. DeLillo's conspiracy, as we've discussed in class, is a lot more *messy* than what we usually picture when we imagine a "conspiracy."