Imagine for me what the world would be like if these four men had lived long, fruitful natural lives...their promise struck down by violence

@chicago Things are pretty negative regardless. I’m not sure what could’ve become worse had these men lived and contributed further good will.

@bijouxbroussard The problem is, when you prevent these tragedies, people live who essentially weren't meant to live in the original timeline, and you have no idea who those people are or will become. They could become good or bad, but that's the thing...it's unpredictable, and you could even prevent your own birth or the birth of other people. It could even lead to another greater, more evil tragedy to occur. It's a domino effect. Would you still go through with it?

@chicago It’s a fair point, and a premise that science fiction has often addressed. But as someone who was alive when these men were and remember all the hope that they represented, I find it natural to wonder “what if ?” Especially seeing the dream that did not quite come to fruition and some of the reversals that possibly will.

@bijouxbroussard Very interesting response.

@bijouxbroussard Good answer. I get what Chicago is saying and in addition political and economic forces can often disrupt the will of one man. But certainly one’s personality and makeup can make a difference.

I don’t think there’s any question that John Kennedy would not have committed hundreds of thousands of US troops to Vietnam had he been President throughout the 60s. It does not make him a saint nor does it absolve him of his responsibility in the whole fiasco. But In that instance the absence of one man in the office of the President affected hundreds of thousands of lives, mostly in a worse way.