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The Frog of War

blogs.harvard.edu

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Re: The Frog of War

#3
> First was on November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This was when The Fifties actually ended and The Sixties began. (My great aunt Eva Quakenbush, née Searls or Searles—it was spelled both ways—told us what it was like when Lincoln was shot and she was 12 years old. “It changed everything,” she said. So did the JFK assassination.)

This always amazes me. Things you learn in history class seem like so long ago, yet here is a living person who spoke to someone with living memory of the civil war. Which also means that people living today had direct relatives who were slaves. The last American slave died in the 1970s, which means they have relatives alive today only a generation or two removed from that. I have people a generation or two younger than me right now! The past is not so far in the past.

Re: The Frog of War

#5

> First was on November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This was when The Fifties actually ended and The Sixties began. (My great aunt Eva Quakenbush, née Searls or Searles—it was spelled both ways—told us what it was like when Lincoln was shot and she was 12 years old. “It changed everything,” she said. So did the JFK assassination.) This always amazes me. Things you learn in history class seem like…

Along those lines: John Tyler, 10th President of the USA... Alive when George Washington was president... Has a living grandson. Grandson! Until recently, he had two. This obituary for his second to last living grandson mentions the surviving brother.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/08/us/john-tyler-grandson-death-...

Re: The Frog of War

#6
This is just a list of events. The first half of which didnt even have a systemic impact on history. "9/11 was a transition from Peacekeeper to Warmaker" is cute coming from an author who lived through Vietnam, Korea, Chile, Angola, Nicaragua, Colombia, Panama, and Grenada.

Re: The Frog of War

#7

> First was on November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This was when The Fifties actually ended and The Sixties began. (My great aunt Eva Quakenbush, née Searls or Searles—it was spelled both ways—told us what it was like when Lincoln was shot and she was 12 years old. “It changed everything,” she said. So did the JFK assassination.) This always amazes me. Things you learn in history class seem like…

To add specifically to the Lincoln assassination: One of the eyewitnesses appeared on a gameshow as mystery guest in 1956 (shortly before passing away)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RPoymt3Jx4

Re: The Frog of War

#9

> First was on November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This was when The Fifties actually ended and The Sixties began. (My great aunt Eva Quakenbush, née Searls or Searles—it was spelled both ways—told us what it was like when Lincoln was shot and she was 12 years old. “It changed everything,” she said. So did the JFK assassination.) This always amazes me. Things you learn in history class seem like…

One joke is that Americans think 100 years is a long time, and Brits think 100 miles is a long way.

Re: The Frog of War

#10
agree or disagree with the list, is is very USA-centric. As a US citizen I can look to all the events he cites and agree at least to their impact, but aside from the internet and Ukraine, these are all things that happened to the US. I wonder how important the assasination of JFK, RFK, and MLK, or 9/11 were to non-US citizens? (I'm genuinely curious, I know that the reach on the US means that almost everyone is impacted becuase we strongly impact other countries with our actions, but are they seen as turning points outside of the US?)
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