{"id":10527,"date":"2017-11-23T22:34:40","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T22:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=10527"},"modified":"2017-11-23T22:34:40","modified_gmt":"2017-11-23T22:34:40","slug":"can-withering-public-trust-in-government-be-traced-back-to-the-jfk-assassination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/can-withering-public-trust-in-government-be-traced-back-to-the-jfk-assassination\/","title":{"rendered":"Can withering public trust in government be traced back to the JFK assassination?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Kellus Turner<\/a>, St. Edward’s University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The recent release of the JFK files led to a surge of media coverage about the Kennedy assassination and its aftermath. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not like public interest has ever really abated. On any day of the week, visit Dealey Plaza, the downtown Dallas site of the assassination. You\u2019ll see curious tourists, sleuths trying to figure out what really happened and others who don\u2019t agree about how it happened.<\/p>\n

In some ways, it\u2019s still Nov. 22, 1963. <\/p>\n

In the days after the tragedy, the public was at a loss over how to interpret the events. People distrusted the government\u2019s explanation \u2013 a suspicion that continues to this day. <\/p>\n

Even so, it doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t any lessons to be learned from the assassination. <\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s time for a different conversation about the Kennedy assassination \u2013 not one about who pulled the trigger, but about the lasting legacy of an unresolved event, and how it\u2019s influenced what Americans do (and don\u2019t) believe in today.<\/p>\n

A cottage industry of conspiracies<\/h2>\n

On Oct. 28, President Trump tweeted<\/a> that he was going to release all the remaining JFK files in order to \u201cput any and all conspiracies to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good luck, Mr. President.<\/p>\n

The journalists, conspiracy theorists and scholars who have sorted through the 31,334 documents disclosed this year<\/a> by the National Archives didn\u2019t find anything that changes our previous understanding of the assassination or the events surrounding it. <\/p>\n

But even if there were new revelations, would public opinion change?<\/p>\n

For more than half a century, Americans have been exposed to a cottage industry of material about the Kennedy assassination. Over 1,000 books have been written, from \u201cCrossfire\u201d and \u201cOn the Trail of Assassins\u201d to \u201cThey Killed Our President\u201d and \u201cCIA Rogues and the Killing of the Kennedys.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s estimated that 95 percent<\/a> of these books are pro-conspiracy and reject the Warren Commission conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy. Most point out discrepancies and unanswered questions. Many confuse innuendo and rumor with logic and evidence. <\/p>\n

Then there are fictional accounts of the assassination<\/a> \u2013 fantasy novels, comic books, comedies, a Broadway musical and even a video game<\/a> \u2013 that make no pretense of telling the truth. <\/p>\n

Rush to judgment<\/h2>\n

Mark Lane\u2019s 1966 book, \u201cRush to Judgment<\/a>,\u201d was one of the first commercially successful books to criticize the methods and conclusions of the Warren Report. However, even before Lane\u2019s book and the Warren Commission began its report, there\u2019s evidence that a different rush to judgment had already occurred. <\/p>\n

Belief in a criminal conspiracy took hold within days of the assassination. A Gallup poll<\/a> taken the week of the assassination found that 52 percent of Americans already believed that the man who shot Kennedy didn\u2019t act on his own and that others were involved. <\/p>\n

In the minds of many Americans, a lack of a coherent narrative seems to have created a void that was filled by doubt and apprehension. The original Gallup news release<\/a> noted the \u201cwidespread fear\u201d that Oswald didn\u2019t act on his own.<\/p>\n

Since 1963, Gallup has continued<\/a> to ask Americans whether they believe in the \u201clone gunman\u201d theory or in a criminal conspiracy, and has consistently found that a majority believes it was a criminal conspiracy. (In 1966, the number dipped to 50 percent. By December 1976 it spiked to 81 percent.) The polls also show there has never been consensus as to who other than Oswald may have been involved.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n A protester attends a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy at Dealey Plaza in November 2013.<\/span>
\n Tony Gutierrez\/AP Photo<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not like JFK conspiracy theories haven\u2019t been thoroughly debunked. Gerald Posner\u2019s 1993 book \u201cCase Closed<\/a>\u201d effectively refutes all the major conspiracy theories. Vincent Bugliosi\u2019s \u201cReclaiming History<\/a>\u201d (2007) \u2013 a more in-depth version of \u201cCase Closed\u201d \u2013 fastidiously explains the evidence establishing Oswald\u2019s guilt and that he acted alone. <\/p>\n

Was the proliferation of conspiracy books \u2013 which exploited deficiencies in the government\u2019s handling of the case \u2013 a major reason the public stopped believing<\/a> the government account of President Kennedy\u2019s murder?<\/p>\n

Social scientists have been able to show how people don\u2019t necessarily wait for the facts, that they instead trust their gut to tell them what is true<\/a>. Study<\/a> after study<\/a> has shown that the presentation of facts and contradictory evidence often doesn\u2019t change beliefs. In fact, it can sometimes make preexisting beliefs stronger<\/a>. <\/p>\n

We also see how conflicting information about the assassination can sow confusion \u2013 to the point where people either aren\u2019t sure what to believe or pick and choose what they want to believe. The JFK assassination is a case study for confirmation bias<\/a>, which is the tendency to search, interpret and favor information in a way that confirms our preexisting beliefs. <\/p>\n

Is it possible that the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination helped lay the groundwork for today\u2019s alternative media ecosystem<\/a> and fake news peddlers<\/a>? Did it show how easily cultural fissures could be created and exploited, and how difficult it is to lay a conspiracy theory to rest<\/a>?<\/p>\n

We do know that in 1964 \u2013 within a month of the Warren Commission\u2019s official finding that Oswald was the lone assassin \u2013 public trust in federal government began a steady 54-year decline. <\/p>\n

Today, it\u2019s at a near-historic low.<\/a><\/p>\n

A case never closed<\/h2>\n

An important but often overlooked aspect of the Kennedy assassination has to do with the sociological importance of due process, and the consequences of when a trial is interrupted.<\/p>\n

Within 48 hours of Oswald\u2019s arrest, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby murdered him on national television. <\/p>\n

This upended the American criminal justice process. Oswald\u2019s death not only denied him his day in court, but it also denied Americans the sense of closure that can accompany a public trial. The presentation of evidence, the examination of witnesses, the deliberation of a jury, the rendering of verdict and the exhaustion of post-conviction remedies are all important elements of closure. Principles and process matter. <\/p>\n

Not that there won\u2019t be critics of courtroom-based outcomes, or that there won\u2019t be differences between a legal verdict and popular opinion. <\/p>\n

But a poignant lesson of the Kennedy assassination is that when the legal process is not allowed to run its course, it can have major, longlasting influences on what some believe \u2013 and what others never will<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every day someone new learns about the Kennedy assassination. Interest in the government\u2019s release of all remaining documents suggests that many still believe there are new things to learn. <\/p>\n

\"TheBut it doesn\u2019t mean Americans are going to learn something that\u2019s going to change what we believe.<\/p>\n

Ryan Kellus Turner<\/a>, Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice, St. Edward’s University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ryan Kellus Turner, St. Edward’s University The recent release of the JFK files led to a surge of media coverage about the Kennedy assassination and its aftermath. But it\u2019s not like public interest has ever really abated. On any day of the week, visit Dealey Plaza, the downtown Dallas site of the assassination. You\u2019ll see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":10528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[293],"tags":[3592,3593,550,1272,711,3594,2205],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10529,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10527\/revisions\/10529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}