My Memory of JFK

From Hi, My Name Is Jack:

In late August, I received $36 for the bus, had my mom drop me off at Greyhound, waited until she left, and hitchhiked from Boston to Athens, Georgia. It took twenty-six hours going back, and I met some incredible people along the way. As soon as I arrived, I called Mona, who was not nearly as excited to hear from me as I was to talk to her—probably because she had spent a lot of time over the summer with the Tech tailback.

Regardless, Rush started—followed by football, classes, parties, and the full swing of college life at the University of Georgia. In November, I was playing bridge, which I did for hours every day, when one of my fraternity brothers hurriedly came out of the TV room. “The President’s been shot!” was all he said. Instantly, the TV room was full, as we all watched the events at Dealey Plaza unfold before our eyes—narrated by Walter Cronkite. Finally, they announced President Kennedy was dead. My bridge partner, Ferber Buckley, said, “He’s dead. We can’t help him now. I’ve bid six spades—a baby slam, and I want to play the hand.” We all went back and played the hand which I’ve been embarrassed to admit ever since.

Kids at UGA, like Americans everywhere, were devastated by the assassination; and for a short period of time, sobriety reigned at Kappa Sigma. With classes cancelled for three days, Mona and I spent substantial time together and continued to do so until the end of the quarter. Making the best grades so far, I went home for Christmas, not realizing I was spending the last carefree days of my youth.

Hi, My Name Is Jack—Chapter One

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It’s His Purposes We Desire—Not Our Own

It’s time that we, as believers, step out of the gray drab existence of multi-culturalism and political correctness—for fear of offending anyone, or for our own desire to be liked. We must stand for the One who declares Himself to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We must never forget where we’ve come from—out of the darkness into His marvelous light.

—Ernest Pullen.

Extolling the virtues of the Christian way of life to millions with a watered-down version of who Christ is, is ineffective. Neither is filling churches with members who have marginal beliefs, other than the desire to instill “good values” into their children. It just doesn’t work—never has, never will.

In the twenty-first century, the fire is nearly out in America—the fire for Christ and for serving others in His name. It has been replaced by other fires—from pastors addicted to pornography to millions of church members consumed with materialism. Countless Christians live worldly lives while, at the same time, expecting God to enrich them because they are His children.

To our generation, God has become a blessing machine—a higher power who dispenses material rewards for marginal behavior—just because He’s a nice guy. Christianity has become sappy and weak for many of its adherents, while being harsh, legalistic, and judgmental for others. The former expect God to reward their mediocrity, while the latter expect Him to honor their self-righteousness. It’s no wonder why there is such a scarcity of the fruit of God’s spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control. People pursue the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life, expecting God to be okay with it. Collectively, our generation has lost the fear of God, especially our leaders, many of whom are more interested in notoriety than service. Not surprisingly, in this setting, character doesn’t mean what it once did.

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart. I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds. As a partridge that hatches eggs, which it has not laid, so is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly; in the midst of his days it will forsake him, and in the end he will be a fool. (Jeremiah 17: 9-11)

—Jack Watts

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NIXON & OBAMA: Portraits in Narcissism

This is more poignant today than when I originally posted it a year-and-a-half ago:

I voted for Richard M. Nixon. There, I’ve admitted it. Other than Aaron Burr, Nixon has been the worst criminal in American politics, until now.

In 1972, most people voted for Nixon. He won in a landslide, a genuine one. Nixon seemed like a much better candidate than George McGovern, who even lost his home state of Minnesota. Massachusetts was the only state McGovern carried. As I saw things, as a very young man, things were looking up. The Vietnam War was winding down, and the nation appeared to be getting back on track.

There was that pesky Watergate distraction, disrupting my tranquility, but that was nothing more than a trivial story. I was certain of it. Then, it began to gain traction, increased momentum, and finally a life of its own.

In its beginning stages, I tried not to pay much attention. The story was so negative, and I wanted to dwell on the positive—Nixon’s overwhelming mandate from the people. Because he won so handily, it seemed far-fetched for him—or for any of his surrogates—to engage in something as ridiculous as a bungled burglary at the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate. Everybody knew Nixon was going to win, which made it seem preposterous for his people to do something that foolish or risky. Besides, it was illegal, and the President would never be involved in anything that was criminal. What President would?

That was exactly the way I thought—just like millions of others. When the cover-up was exposed and Nixon was forced to resign in disgrace, I had to face reality, which was very difficult. I realized I had been on the wrong side. I had been for Executive Privilege and not for full disclosure. I had been for keeping things quiet, covering them up, and moving forward. Others called for the light to shine in the darkness, but not me. I was wrong—dead wrong.

It was a difficult time for me, requiring extensive, gut-wrenching introspection. From that experience, however, I became a different person. I promised myself to never champion the darkness again, regardless of what it might cost.

I also concluded several things about Nixon. I realized his narcissism wouldn’t allow him to just win. He needed to do more than that. He needed to subjugate and destroy his political opposition; just beating them wasn’t enough. Knowing what his opponents were doing became an obsession with Nixon—just like it has with our current President.

Now, forty years later, we have the same situation with President Barack Hussein Obama—the exact same situation. Like Nixon, Obama has a “we-they” mentality. Those who are not with him are his enemies, and destroying one’s enemies is what narcissists like Nixon and Obama do.

The concept of “loyal opposition” doesn’t exist for a narcissist. Opposition, by nature, means disloyalty. Because their way is the right way, lying to achieve victory is normal and praiseworthy. Neither would consider there was anything wrong with such an outlook. It’s why both of them seem so believable, even though Nixon wasn’t at the time and Obama isn’t now.

Being mistrustful, both were afraid power would be taken from them. In Obama’s case, he feared that if the truth came out about the Benghazi attack, he would lose the election. That’s why he engaged in a massive cover-up that has been ongoing. Just as Nixon did in Watergate, Obama has consistently stonewalled, refusing to disclose anything voluntarily. He never will. It’s not in his nature to do so.

Being somewhat paranoid, narcissists never reveal who they really are. To them, being candid and forthright would put them at a disadvantage to their opponents, and that’s something no narcissist would ever do voluntarily.

When you think of events from the perspective of a narcissist, their behavior makes sense. For Nixon, the Watergate break-in and cover-up was necessary. In the same way, for Obama, the bugging of the Associated Press’s lines, the complicity of the IRS to destroy his Tea Party opposition, and the Benghazi cover-up to ensure his reelection were all reasonable things to do. All of it makes sense from a narcissistic worldview. If you are not one, however, as most people aren’t, it doesn’t seem logical. Finally, because maintaining power is a consuming passion, Obama will hold on to power until the bitter end, just like Nixon did.

As Obama’s house of cards continues to collapse, millions of his followers will become disillusioned—just as I was when Nixon resigned in disgrace. Helping these unfortunates through the process of disenchantment to emotional health is something good men and women need to do. Ridiculing them for having been fooled is something that will not be helpful. They will just become embittered like I was forty years ago.

—Jack Watts

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