Today in History: Kent State Shootings

Picture by John Filo/Getty Images via Slate

After my last blog post mentioning I went to Kent State for a bit, it is no surprise that I'd like to take a minute to reflect on the lives lost during the anti-war protests 44 years ago today. Four lives were lost and nine were injured, May 4th, 1970. I never really thought about this event very much when I was attending Kent State until I would walk by the memorials of the victims when I would then imagine what it would be like to be there that day.

While I won't say the protesters or the National Guard was right or wrong in how they were handling protesting, and I really have no comment to make on the event as a whole, I think it is important to take a moment to reflect on any tragic day in history to see what went wrong, what could have been done, and what could be done if a situation like this were to arise again. If we don't know history, it's only doomed to repeat itself. Take this as a moment to reflect and pray for our country in hopes that nothing like this happens again.

Here are some sources to look into this day in history:
Personal Remembrances of the Kent State Shootings, 43 Years Later
Kent State 1970
The New York Times, On This Day In History, Front Page