We damn well knew the government was lying, even as we dutifully took our physicals to become 2nd Lieutenants. Fortunately (Wow, how weird is it saying that??), Kent State happened which grew us all some stones and we banned together as a class and told the military and the school that the current arrangement was unacceptable and we would refuse our commissions. In the end, guided by conscience, a few of us decided to go into service. One was killed within three months, in a neighboring country we were not even suppose to be in.....
If anything good came out of this period in addition to equal rights issues, it was that the citizenry of our nation began to pay closer attention to what was going on within the governing of our country. The Vietnam War and the Watergate debacle made a lot of people sit up and take notice. Unfortunately, this position once again became the norm as time moved farther along. We as the 'employers" of all these folks making policy have to again learn to hold their "feet to the fire" and not allow ourselves to be lied to again in order to further some politician or groups' desires which are not in the citizens best interests. We are a nation of laws, not of men.
In which branch of our military did you serve, 2nd LT would have to be Marines, Army, or the Air Force (we had Ensigns). Anyway thank you for your service.
After Kent State, I wrote to my C.O. informing him I didn't want to be a member of his club any more. (I imagine he got a lot of similar letters from most of my classmates at the time, all of whom were 2nd Lt.'s in waiting.) And that was that. It seemed that the military didn't give a damn whether seminarians went into active service upon ordination. It's was our seminary that required every class to register for the chaplaincy. A very few of us did become chaplains, enough to fulfill our denomination's quota. And, as I mentioned, one of them was killed within three months.
As a side note to my revulsion over Kent State, I had an opportunity to call James Allen Rhodes a murderer to his face during a receiving line. I did so. The governor got wide eyed and sputtered. I moved on down the line. It was pointless, but well deserved.
BTW, one of the Kent State victims, Allison Beth Krause, lived at the end of my street.
Motie,like a lot of people I was horrified by the events at Kent State.As far as I know none of the guardsmen were ever charged,is that true? Saw pictures of the memorials erected on the campus.Wasnt Allison Krause on her way to class when she was cut down? Read many of the comments from various residents of Kent,one in particular,a lady said the guardsmen should have killed more students.Unbelivable.The one thing I have never been to find is much of what the parents had to say on the deaths of their sons and daughters. Anything you could add?
In the general discussion on Politics and Politicians I don't believe all Politicians are corrupt,certainly many of them have proven otherwise. They definitely don't have the market cornered on lying and corruption,look at many other institutions in our country.Bankers, Wall Street,Auto Insurance Company's,and the Medical Industry just to name a few.We know who the Politicians are,but seldom know the names of people mentioned above.Yes we hear about Madoff and some of the fines paid by Walmart for violations of workers rights but largely they remain anonymous.My point being their are plenty of Politicians trying to do the righ thing by their constituents.We as Americans share some of the blame,from what I understand only 40% of registered voters actually vote,a good number of Americans can't even name the three branches of Government,and the politicians know this and therefore it's much easier to dog whistle and throw red meat to their supporters.I know at times I've become cynical about politics,however I've come to the conclusion it goes nowhere.As some of you have stated these government officials have to be held accountable,and when they are things happen.This was evident the last few days in Washington.As the saying goes-if you don't have a seat at the table your on the menu. With Telecommunications today their is no reason why people can't contact their representatives and let them know their opinions on this or that.It may not change an outcome to your liking but it sure is better than being silent.
I had more or less let selected portions of 60's and a lot of the 70's be put in a little file of my minds' memory, at least the less than happy times. After all the 70's saw me meeting my wife, getting married, having 2 kids, and moving on up the career ladder. But the earlier times in the 70's, those in which I was thousands of miles from home, had friends get wounded and dying in a war that hardly anyone understood, and many did not care about, was put into this minds' file so as not to have to deal with anymore.
And there it was stored, covered in what I imagine were the brains' equivalent for cobwebs. Once in awhile a photograph, a comment, or the most suggestive at least to me, music of the times would pry open just a corner of my minds "locked" files. It is amazing how the senses control what we as humans think about. And when that happens all sorts of thoughts and emotions were unleashed. This I have found decreases in frequency as we age.
I am very happy this series was produced and shown, especially for me at least at this time. Mortal longevity has taken some of the sharp edges off of both my memories and their inevitable associated thoughts. And not just regarding that war, but many, many things as I go down that road of life. Life's experience has allowed me both a more focused and analytical ability to think as well as a more open minded attitude.
That era was for many of us the most profound time in our lives as our "Baby Boomer" generation starting being the adults and no longer the kids. Beginning in that era we began to finally sit at the adult table. I would definitely repeat the entire experience with no changes to ensure that all of the good and great things that have blessed my life would happen again. And perhaps understand the less happy times.
So this past week proved to me that I am now at least able to think about things in that file mentioned about without as much emotion and hesitation as in my younger days. I am sure that someone much smarter and eloquent than I could explain the processes that are at work here.
I can't type either, my HS Guidance Counselor said "you will never need to type".....obviously unaware of what was to come years later and replace damn near everything and the manner in which we do it. I can type fairly fast (for someone who types perhaps with multiple fingers duct taped together with just a couple of the digits, but I am always having to go back and correct / change things.
I had a HS counselor put me in a typing class because I needed an elective to fill out my senior year schedule. She figured I needed something easy because I was a football player. Got out of the class with an "A" because I could type 36 words a minute on an Underwood Manual Typewriter.
Comments
I agreed with that sentiment being ultimately true, or I did until recently, when the idea of the rule of law started to feel like "fake news."
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.".......... Edmund Burke
In which branch of our military did you serve, 2nd LT would have to be Marines, Army, or the Air Force (we had Ensigns). Anyway thank you for your service.
As a side note to my revulsion over Kent State, I had an opportunity to call James Allen Rhodes a murderer to his face during a receiving line. I did so. The governor got wide eyed and sputtered. I moved on down the line. It was pointless, but well deserved.
BTW, one of the Kent State victims, Allison Beth Krause, lived at the end of my street.
Nope. I let it go years ago, until I typed the entry above......
I had more or less let selected portions of 60's and a lot of the 70's be put in a little file of my minds' memory, at least the less than happy times. After all the 70's saw me meeting my wife, getting married, having 2 kids, and moving on up the career ladder. But the earlier times in the 70's, those in which I was thousands of miles from home, had friends get wounded and dying in a war that hardly anyone understood, and many did not care about, was put into this minds' file so as not to have to deal with anymore.
And there it was stored, covered in what I imagine were the brains' equivalent for cobwebs. Once in awhile a photograph, a comment, or the most suggestive at least to me, music of the times would pry open just a corner of my minds "locked" files. It is amazing how the senses control what we as humans think about. And when that happens all sorts of thoughts and emotions were unleashed. This I have found decreases in frequency as we age.
I am very happy this series was produced and shown, especially for me at least at this time. Mortal longevity has taken some of the sharp edges off of both my memories and their inevitable associated thoughts. And not just regarding that war, but many, many things as I go down that road of life. Life's experience has allowed me both a more focused and analytical ability to think as well as a more open minded attitude.
That era was for many of us the most profound time in our lives as our "Baby Boomer" generation starting being the adults and no longer the kids. Beginning in that era we began to finally sit at the adult table. I would definitely repeat the entire experience with no changes to ensure that all of the good and great things that have blessed my life would happen again. And perhaps understand the less happy times.
So this past week proved to me that I am now at least able to think about things in that file mentioned about without as much emotion and hesitation as in my younger days. I am sure that someone much smarter and eloquent than I could explain the processes that are at work here.