Today marks fifty years since the National Guard fired on students protesting at Kent State, killing four and further polarizing sides in the Vietnam War debate.
The New York Times has a thoughtful piece on the incident and its consequences. More thoughts and a musical tribute by the Isley Brothers can be found here. Wikipedia covers the event in detail, adding its own historical perspective, and there will certainly be many other retrospectives in the media.
I recall watching the news that day and trying to make sense of what was, from any perspective tragic and senseless. I won’t comment here on the merits or on other’s comments, but there does seem to me to be some commonality in the moment to the Boston Massacre of 250 years ago, which I discussed recently, in which rebels and troops there were at odds.
During the Sixties and for some years thereafter, I clung to the belief that my generation would make the world safer, cleaner and more united. Derided now as “Boomers,” the best of us have done too little, and too many have formed a non-“Silent Majority” more reactionary than the parents who brought them up.
Some argue that when a group feels threatened they cling to shared social constructs as undeniable truths. The fact that they are not true, or not entirely so, is not only irrelevant, but something that unites them further, a bit like we “Elvis Lives” believers, though not so tongue-in-cheek.
When I see pandemic protesters in the news, I tend to think they are not protesting having to shelter at home or even being told what to do. They may not be thinking deeply enough, but they may be acting out of fear for a way of life they see fading away. Politicians who play to those fears risk confrontations we mark in history books, with all the unexpected consequences they may unleash.
Kent State will be quiet today, as most of us are occupied by a moment in history we hope to survive. Perhaps a quiet and contemplated remembrance on this day is best.
