Tomorrow is the 40th Anniversary of the shootings at Kent State University. On May 4, 1970 the Ohio National Guard opened fire into a crowd of students protesting the Viet Nam War and specifically the US invasion of Cambodia which President Nixon had announced a few days earlier. A total of 67 shots were fired in 13 seconds. Four students: Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, William Schroeder, and Sandra Scheuer were killed. Nine students were wounded.
I, along with all of my friends, was shocked that American servicemen would be ordered to fire into a crowd of students who were peacefully protesting government action. We were horrified to think that the servicemen would obey the orders. Many of us questioned our political leadership’s (both Democrat and Republican) decision to continue and escalate the war, but having the government use deadly force to end peaceful protest was unacceptable. For many of us it was a life changing experience. For me, it meant I couldn’t just go back to class, and pretend the world had not changed. I had to get involved. My public service career began a few days later, when I left my studies at Penn and joined the Philadelphia Police force, where I was assigned as a patrolman to the 18th District at 55th & Pine. I wanted to make a difference… to be a part of the solution. My time on the police force didn’t provide the chance for impact that I was looking for, but that’s another story.
The shootings at Kent State left me with a life-long cynicism about community leadership, either politically elected or appointed to head a non-profit. Just because someone has been chosen, doesn’t mean they are infallible, and being a member of a particular party, doesn’t mean they are always right or wrong. I believe Ben Franklin said it best… "It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." Forty years ago I realized Ben had it right!
Forty years later, this is still a frightening memory. And with the passing of our new, militant, intolerant immigration law in AZ, I worry that history may repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteBKelly
Thanks for remembering the date. This happened long before I was born and it still eates me up. This tragedy in my opinion is one of the darkest clouds over American history. A people who can not criticize thier gov't without fear of being shot have nothing. And lets not forget that two of those students weren't even in the protest but were just walking across campus on the way to class. Outrageous!
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