We the People: Is the Past Prologue?

Were we as divided on May 4, 1970 as we are now? That was the day when Ohio National Guardsmen fired on unarmed anti-war protestors on the Kent State campus, killing four and wounding nine others. I’ve been asked a version of that question multiple times over the past year, most recently by my niece, Bernadette, who is a military veteran, student of history, and keen observer of behavior. Her question struck me not only because of its timeliness but also because she was only seven years old on then.

Older Bomers can speak about the Kent State shootings anecdotally since they were adults then. Younger Boomers who weren’t mature enough to fully grasp the enormity of the event might have vague memories of it. That speaks to the power of the moment.

Bernadette told me she remembers it well is because of her dad talking about it while he watched the news. She said she didn’t understand it, but whenever she sees an image of it resurface, she’s taken back to that time and place.

Unlike Bernadette, I completely grasped the enormity of the shootings. I was a student at the University of Pittsburgh at the time. As a rising junior, I had just declared that I would major in political science and minor in American history.

The victims’ ages and the proximity of the two schools—Pitt is a hundred miles from Kent State—brought the shootings home. Adding to it was  the parents of Allison Krause, one of the four killed, had recently moved into a suburb of Pittsburgh through which I commuted on my way to class. I still visualize Mr. Krause on the local news tearfully declaring this daughter wasn’t a bum, which President Nixon had labeled the protestors.

I tell those to point out how horrific events to which one might not be part of can leave a lasting imprint on their brain. That in turn can cause psychological and emotional distress, discomfort, even trauma for the rest of their life.

The Kent State shootings shocked the conscious of Americans who saw them as an unwarranted overreaction to an exercising of First Amendment rights. They were unnerving because the ones empowered to protect us were now shooting and even killing us. And they were seen as an assault on fundamental principles of the American creed, specifically freedom of speech and assembly to redress grievances against the government.

The Kent State shootings should not be seen in isolation. To say the least, the socio-political climate of the age was volatile and at times tumultuous and violent.

With the advantage of hindsight, we can debate how our travails compare to those of that time in our history. In addition to the specifics, it’s important to consider the mindset of the American people writ large of the respective periods. The same? Different? If so, how? How much were we, are we divided?

Differences and division among people are aspects of the human condition. Not only do they help make us interesting, they help us grow, even survive. The greatest advancers of human progress have been the ones who had the fortitude to say no to the status quo across the spectrum, from religious and scientific to political and social. That was and remains true in a vibrant democracy. In fact, it’s requisite. Otherwise, we’d make proper little fascists.

We managed to get through that time. Does that mean we can/will get through this one with our democracy intact?

We came out of that period a different people. A better people? A stronger one? How about this time?

The questions I pose are not easy to answer. They require deep consideration, which can be furthered through discussion with others, including those with whom we disagree.

In Willliam Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” Antonio states, “Whereof what’s past is prologue, what to come / In yours and my discharge.”

Merriam-Webster defines prologue in part as “an introductory or preceding event or development.” In that context, Shakespeare is suggesting that even though events of the past might’ve set the stage for those of today, how we respond to them is in our power, our “discharge.”  

Is the past prologue? Is history repeating itself? Weigh in. Let your voice be heard.

Note: To learn more about the Kent State shooting, read “THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY: THE SEARCH FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY” .