A point of personal privilege if I may. 55 Years ago Today, 4 students were shot dead and 10 more were wounded by the Ohio national guard at the Campus of Kent State University in Ohio. I was 19 years old. I remember exactly where I was, in a dorm room at Dartmouth College, looking out at a beautiful spring day, when I heard the news. I felt then that nothing in my life would ever be the same…that safety from an oppressive government was an illusion, that my own personal safety was threatened, that the powerful and corrupt men who controlled the government would stop at nothing to suppress dissent. Those tumultuous times and the movement for change are now part of ancient history, a history that still reverberates for me. Every American generation seems consigned to face the dark demons of despotism. These days, it sometimes feels like the war being waged by Trump, a twisted, crooked, criminal and his fascisti against diversity, equity, and inclusion, against the judiciary, against the universities, against due process, and against the Constitution, has no precedent. Sadly, that’s not the case. Our history is littered with government oppression. I say this, not to deepen despair, but, oddly, to inspire hope. I know that “Hope” is a four-letter word and I sometimes hesitate to speak it out loud. Yet, I remain hopeful. I was inspired by and served with a President for whom “Hope” was a call to action. As a nation, we have, in the past, countered repressive, corrupt leadership and rallied to correct course in service to our higher ideals. I am cautiously optimistic, quietly hopeful that the lessons of the past, both the valleys and the peaks, will not be lost. This is a time for courage, for spine, for bravery, for action. I am hopeful that the true spirit of this country, the countervailing spirit that rises from the darkness and stands for equality, tolerance and justice, is coming back. I feel it in the streets, in the courts, in the press, and soon, I hope, at the ballot box. The moral arc of history is long enough to consign the perverse deviants in power to the garbage bin of history. Tyranny is an episodic human self-affliction. It’s deeply painful but not necessarily a permanent condition. Our experiment in Democracy, still offers us the chance for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe, that when push comes to shove, we will prove to be worthy keepers of that flame.
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