The Kent State Massacre and the Lessons the U.S. failed to Learn

Today (May 4th, 2020) marks the fifty year anniversary of the Kent State massacre (May 4th, 1970). The National Guard shot and killed 4 college students for protesting the Cambodian Incursion, and extension of the Vietnam War, a war that President Nixon claimed would end under his administration.

It would seem in the fifty year span, however, political parties and their beliefs have changed. During the Vietnam War, those who protested the United States’ military operation there were typically on the left side of the political compass. A younger generation who had more compassion for life than the older generations around them and you can see it in Nixon’s handling of the “hippie” crowd as he liked to call many of them.

Fast forward fifty years later and we can look at the left now and see how they feel about protests. The United States has currently well over 30 million men, women, and young adults without employment, without a paycheck and yet many of the left hide behind the same people who were pointing rifles at them 50 years ago. Granted it isn’t everyone leaning left who defends the Stay At Home orders many lawmakers and governors are preaching about, but there are many and the ones that are have a large presence.

A few days ago, Chicago mayor, Lori Lighfoot, along with other city officials, made it clear they do not have an issue taking innocent people to jail.

“If you refuse to do what is necessary to save lives in this city in the middle of a pandemic, we will take you to jail. Period”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Of course there are the select few who can argue what is necessary to “save lives” in Chicago. Apparently the selected few have yet to do the math on how many people could die from not being able to afford food or shelter, they haven’t seen all the patients who were awaiting surgeries and have gone untreated because of lock downs.

Fifty years ago, unlawful force was used to kill four Kent State students and injure nine more. The left or the right didn’t suffer from this, the United States did. Today we stand to suffer an exponentially larger number in fatalities, but the many authoritarians decided to hide and threaten to use the same force that killed those four students fifty years ago today. This is indeed a failed history lesson, and a piece of history we are currently repeating.