Memories and Emotions

This morning I had set up a "smart" playlist from my "acoustic" directory. Just random songs from different artists from Carol King to The Best of MTV Unplugged. An old protest song from the 70's came on from the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young "4 Way Street" album "Ohio". I still marvel at the power music has to generate emotion and recall events from our past. I was a whole 13 years old when it happened. I recall being absolutely shocked that something like that could happen in America and I remember being tragically sad. I could not have understood all the philosophical, economic and political elements at the age of 13, but I remember hiding in my room because I was crying and didn't want to be teased.
As I grew older, I recognized that emotions created by the even covered a large spectrum of human feeling. A lot of people were angry. That seemed to be the most common. I remember that because I became very cautious and afraid. I was afraid of angry people, I couldn't predict their behavior. Anger is still the emotion that causes immense distress for me, whether it be my own or someone else's.

The real coincidence is that yesterday I was talking with a friend and we were discussing the differences between Kent State and Tienanmen Square. The more we tried to contrast them, the more we found similarities:

• Both were instances when the country's military was used against unarmed civilian citizens
• Both were the result of protest rallies
• Both countries justified their action because the protest demonstration was illegal
• Both included in their list of casualties spectators and passers by who just happened to be in the wrong place at the time
• Members of both military forces fired over the heads of the crowd to avoid killing a protester
• Both countries were under the control of a minority who considered themselves elite and above the law
• Both claimed it was none of the world's business what happened in their "internal affairs"

and fortunately:

• Both of them created a situation where the government was forced to evolve into a more democratic, representative authority

There are differences in the number of people killed: in Ohio it was exactly 4, in China the estimate ranges from 200 (PRC Government) to 3000 (Red Cross). The acceptable number for something like this is ZERO. I don't care if you're a hooligan in Boston or screaming communist in Ohio or even a jihadist throwing stones in your neighborhood in Babylon, the killing of unarmed civilians by military is not acceptable. Even in those few examples I find myself agreeing with some of the principled beliefs of both parties and sympathy for both sides of the battle. Significant differences create this result. The National Guard was not allowed access to tanks and the eight round M1Garand is no match for an AK47with a 30 round magazine.

When I was young, I was fortunate to have a big sister who would beat up anybody who picked on me. I discovered I was incapable of physical violence no matter the consequence, and if it hadn't been for Karen the consequences would have been much greater. But I knew something that prevented many a fight from ever taking place: Don't be in the same place as your antagonist! I also learned this was easy to accomplish without great effort or making it obvious you were avoiding conflict. Another think I learned is that if you are faced with a situation that is likely to turn out bad, run away! This has worked for me from the playground to a first date that was going someplace I didn't want to go.

We could argue the positions of protagonists and antagonists in these situations, but I don't believe any point of view ends with "we better shoot at these civilians" as a successful solution. For one thing, a lot of your friends get angry with you when you shoot their neighbors whether you like them or not.

We live in a great country. It is a country that has done many, many wonderful things that have benefited the world. America has even done things when there was no tangible benefit to us. Sincere leaders have chosen to do the right thing just because their hearts have led them to the right action.

The secret to becoming a better country is to learn our weaknesses, admit our faults and take the often painful steps to correct them. As I watch another political battle for the White House taking place, we are so busy advertising what the others are doing wrong that we have no resources left to discover what we are doing wrong which leaves us powerless to correct it. The consequence is that we can't even be sure of what we are doing right. We continue to amplify and justify the differences and don't seem to acknowledge where we agree. We are, it appears, becoming more and more subject to extinction.