The National Guard has been deployed to Washington, D.C.; and a total of 20,000 troops will be on hand to protect the nation’s capital amid growing threats of violence on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 - Inauguration Day.
This sets up the unbelievable reality that the U.S. military could shoot and kill U.S. citizens. Shooting and killing the enemy is what our military is trained to do, but it is unimaginable that our troops might be in a position to treat U.S. citizens as the enemy. But it has happened before.
Last year was the 50th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre. In May of 1970, National Guard troops were deployed to control an anti-war protest on the campus of Kent State University. Twenty-eight U.S. soldiers opened fire on a group of protesters - 67 shots were fired over a 13 second period - 4 protesters were killed and 9 injured. The nearest victim was 20 yards away and the farthest was close to 250 yards away - that’s 2 ½ football fields away. That day, Americans shot and killed Americans on American soil. The significance of that moment can never be overstated.
To recognize the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shooting, an article on the website of The Guardian by Chris McGreal, defined the shooting as exposing an “American society that shaped politics into the Trump era.”
In his article, McGreal interviewed a Kent State student who confessed, “No one knew the national guard had real bullets. We were completely shocked. It just never occurred to anyone that they would actually have bullets to shoot people. It may sound naive but we talked about that for years afterwards.” The government has made it clear that the National Guard troops currently deployed in the nation’s capital will have live rounds in their weapons.
No one believed our National Guard would fire upon Americans until it happened at Kent State. No one believed they would ever see Americans attack the Capitol with the intent of destroying property and capturing and killing the Vice President of the United States. That happened just over one week ago and our collective naivete was shattered.
In 1970, when the Kent State Massacre occurred, America was deeply divided. The Vietnam War was the main point of conflict, but the divide in America then was also part of the battle between the establishment and the young, anti-establishment generation formed in the 60s. That was to Baby Boomer generation that is today’s establishment. Protesting was part of that generation’s crusade.
We - the people - should all be anxious over the potential outcome of violent protesters meeting National Guards troops between now and Inauguration Day. Will those angry with President Trump’s loss to Joe Biden lead to violence? Authorities warn there is growing evidence that the passion of some Trump supporters will attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. There should be a slight bit of hope that the consequences many of the rioters from last week are facing will discourage a repeat performance.
It is crazy to even think that National Guards troops would be put in a position to fire upon fellow Americans, but it was also crazy to think that would happen over 50 years ago.
The parallels between the great divide in America in the 60s and early 70s and the great divide today are impossible to dismiss. Let us hope that lessons were learned from the tragedy of last week and that this will be the tipping point where we realize our divide over opinions defies the spirit of America.
