“The impact of the President’s death will be felt for years to come.”

That was how the editor of the Inter Lake summed it up on Nov. 24, 1963, two days after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, and now 50 years later we can sense just how true those words were.

The assassination of our young, vibrant, inspirational leader changed us in ways both obvious and subtle, and yet we may guess that President Kennedy’s short time in office also changed the world in many ways — sometimes for the better, sometimes the worse.

It is entirely possible that parts of the globe would still be a smoldering radioactive inferno had Kennedy not prevailed against the wisdom of his generals and military advisers in 1962 when they were prepared to use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy had many faults, but his calm, cool approach to crisis was not one of them.

We also must count highly as part of the Kennedy legacy his gift of communication. Watching any speech or press conference of his today makes many of us yearn for the days when presidents were seen as inspirational leaders rather than political operatives.

Consider these famous words from the president’s inaugural address:

“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

Such powerful and memorable words are largely the reason why JFK still looms large in the public imagination, even more so than his charisma, his charming family or his youth.

Indeed, Kennedy’s words inspired a wave of volunteerism across the country, best embodied by an organization that was already loosely formed but was named and solidified as the Peace Corps by Kennedy.

The notion of using America as a force for good around the world was the driving theme of that 1961 inaugural address that included another famous quotation: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.”

That was the thinking of the man who would engage the United States in Vietnam — an endeavor that is now regarded by many as a costly mistake, but can also be seen within the context of the times as a necessary response to the proliferation of oppressive communism around the world.

In any case, Kennedy’s presidency was a work in progress. He seemed to be growing on the job, and was about to tackle such huge issues as the Civil Rights Act when he was struck down. He had enemies, but he also had a way of winning them over.

As the editor of the Daily Inter Lake wrote in 1963, “We seldom agreed with the president but we admired him for the courage of his convictions. He was young, dynamic, and casting aside partisan politics, we feel he was an ardent worker for peace.”

The world we confront today is full of many of the same challenges that existed during Kennedy’s presidency. Probably, no one man could ever have tamed the monsters of geo-political self-interest that seem to impel the nations of the world to endless struggle, but we sense that Kennedy was indeed on the right side of history.

Even 50 years later, therefore, we continue to mourn the death of the possibilities of a better world that Kennedy embodied, and we yearn for the return of the kind of inspirational leadership he represented.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.