1960s.
ROB BAKKER
Artistic Director, Theater De Citadel, The Netherlands
1960s. The American presidential elections, Nixon ver- sus Kennedy. There still was no TV at our home, the news came via the radio. At home there were discus- sions about these elections. I understood that my par- ents preferred Kennedy as a president.
On the school square a game developed in which, with three other boys, I went to all children in the school playground with the simple question: “Nixon or Kennedy?” If one of the kids answered: “Nixon”, that kid got a slap in the face, but when a kid answered “Kennedy”, he or she got a kiss on the face. That’s as simple as it gets. Most of the children answered Kennedy. That already gave a feeling of hope and security.