Kent State: 55 Years (War, Protests and Lessons), by Timothy Trainer
We often commemorate events in ten-year intervals or at the quarter century, half-century or century mark. This year, however, it seems appropriate to remind ourselves of a day 55 years ago on May 4, 1970. In view of the onslaught of federal government cuts to university research funding, threats to foreign students, and the White House’s threats aimed at universities that fail to bend to the President’s will and way of thinking, we should remind ourselves that those who are in positions of power can press the panic button that leads to the most extreme government actions.
The tragic shooting and killing of students on May 4, 1970, followed years of nationwide campus unrest and protests regarding U.S. involvement in Vietnam. It’s worth noting that during the first several months of 1970, April proved to be the deadliest with 730 U.S. troops killed during that month, including 70 killed on the first day of April. Firebase Illingworth Illuminated in a Titanic Horror – VFW (additional statistics available: amerianwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwc24.htm).
Between 1964 and the end of 1969, the military draft had resulted in the induction of over 1.5 million young American men. https://www.sss.gov/history-and-records/induction-statistics/. During that same period, over 48,500 Americans had died in Vietnam. https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics. Tens of thousands of others serving in Vietnam were wounded. On April 29, 1970, President Nixon ordered the military incursion into Cambodia and informed the country of this development the next day. The expansion of the war into Cambodia was met with protest around the country. https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/remembering-vietnam-online-exhibit-episodes-9-12.
Whether young adult males were in college or not, they were needed to serve and fight in Vietnam and Nixon’s speech was seen as expanding the war not an attempt to bring the war to an end. Nixon’s announcement resulted in college student reactions around the country: historicexhibits.lib.iastate. At the time, the reaction in Ohio was similar to those on other campuses and college towns around the country.
The reason the Kent State shooting becomes even more important today is because of the way the federal government and Trump are targeting universities and students. Just as political leaders ignored their young constituents more than half a century ago, those in political leadership in the nation’s capital today seem intent on ignoring or, worse, punishing those whose opinions are not in line with what the White House wants to hear.
The U.S. Government should not force a way of thinking, requiring institutions of higher education to bend to one man’s set of facts and opinions. If these places are intended to be centers for learning, part of that mission is to be a place of diverse opinions, diverse peoples and the willingness to debate issues from all sides.
University and college campuses are places where young minds should be exposed to new thinking, different thinking and where we challenge what has been learned and observed. The point of education is to broaden us as individuals; it is not for us to surrender to someone else’s ego-driven desires.
History should teach us, inform us of something. Fifty-five years ago, the war, the political conduct of the war and the tensions between opposing views of what should be done resulted in the government’s use of deadly force.
There are many lessons arising from that day and each person will take from that event what they wish. One thing is certain, some in the ruling-political class of that time didn’t want to accept the views or opinions of those opposing the war. Ultimately, armed force, lethal force was unleashed on the Kent State campus.
The government, whether at the federal or state level, has the tools available to call upon those who are armed and in the service of the government and in the name of the citizenry to quell and quash those whose opinions the government doesn’t like or to simply ignore the laws of the land and act beyond the law to intimidate those who speak out against the government.
What was true 55 years ago and remains so today is that whether it is an institution of higher learning or anywhere else, differing opinions exist around a set of established facts. Under our system, the government may set policies and implement them, but the government does not tell us what opinions to hold, how we interpret facts presented and whether we can express those opinions. The lesson is that we cannot allow the government to suppress thought and speech because there are times when the government’s actions demand a response from the people.
