American Experience - RFK
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Movie Reviews of American Experience - RFK
Movie Review: Glorifying RFK
Summary: 1 Stars
PBS appeared to glorify Robert Kennedy as something of an enlightened, courageous, moral leader who, if given the chance, would have "saved" the United States from itself -- e.g. withdraw American troops from Vietnam, end racial strife, and institute social programs to further help the disadvantaged. Indeed, a large number of Democrats placed their hopes in his candidacy for the nomination, and the poignant displays of grief following his assassination underscored the strength of their faith in him. Without much surprise, in death, he was elevated into mythical status, even legend it seemed.
By failing to interview any of his critics, however, PBS offered a skewed image of Kennedy. Given his controversial nature and reputation for being combative, rude, haughty, and impatient, his position on the issues must have generated substantial debate and criticism. Unfortunately, because everyone in this documentary offered nothing but praise for him, viewers gain little insight into what the American public felt about him collectively.
Common decency enjoins us to assess Kennedy's career and life fairly, to weigh the good and bad equally. That being said, Kennedy worked for and thus helped Senator Joseph McCarthy destroy the careers of many innocent public servants. Despite the great injustices wrought by the Red Scare, he continued to express respect for McCarthy and made the Republican senator godfather to his first daughter, Kathleen. Following the Bay of Pigs snafu, he ordered the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro at least eight times, countervailing Langley's recommendation that his efforts would be fruitless. More revealing, however, was his unwillingness to clarify his orders in writing because he did not want to be held accountable for his decisions -- a mentality squarely at odds with notions of government transparency, moral leadership, and democracy. Lastly, while he excoriated corrupt labor union officials and Italian-American gangsters during his tenure in the Rackets Committee, he maintained a very sanctimonious position, even though part of his family's enormous wealth derived from his father's illicit bootlegging operations and hence ties to organized crime. Therefore, his behavior casts serious doubt upon the widespread Democratic conviction that he would have been a "good" president.
Thus, it remains unclear whether Kennedy would have kept his campaign promises regardless of the consequences. For example, his pledge to withdraw American GIs from Vietnam does not seem entirely convincing. His break from LBJ's war policies appear rather hypocritical in light of JFK's orders for the CIA to assassinate President Diem Ngo because the latter refused to permit large numbers of American combat troops to enter South Vietnam. In essence, his brother escalated the Vietnam War without fully considering the long-term consequences. As the second most important person in the JFK administration, he did absolutely nothing to stop his brother.
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