05-05-2010, 01:03 PM
Dennis S wrote:
I heard someone on the radio today who said it wasn't important enough to be in the history books. I disagree.
I'm wondering if Dennis heard the same snippet that I heard during an NPR piece. To put it in context,
the comment came from a young (22-23ish ?) student at Kent State who was questioning whether it is necessary
to commemorate the anniversary every single year instead of on major ones - 40 years, 50 years, etc... and I think
that the student was referring to the yearly on campus commemoration.
It's the same for many anniversaries - look at D-Day, December 7th/Pearl Harbor and other major war events.
Many of those have faded to major anniversary observances with local exceptions.
Kent State was a major turning point of public opinion of the war. largely because it happened on a relatively
conservative college campus and not a more liberal one like Madison, or Berkley. The protest was unexpected
and the authorities over reacted - simple and sad.
The American Public Media program called "The Story" had a very good conversation with professor Jerry Lewis
who was at ground zero during the shootings. He still teaches at Kent State and provides a fascinating first person history.
http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_10...1.mp3/view