| William
Schroeder was one of the four students shot dead by National Guardsmen
at Kent State in May of 1970. This painting is among a series of
five -- with a similar visual theme -- remembering Kent State and
its four victims.
By
remembering what happened then, we reflect on the power of free
speech, war and peace, the right to dissent, the power of the state,
and excessive force by police and the military. In 2003, these are
again important issues in America.
That
a significant number of Americans do not remember or know about
Kent State is telling; also a bit chilling. In our age of computerized,
instant-access, global information, Americans are ignorant about
the world around them. To be so chronically uninformed is to court
tragedy; to forget past tragedies is to invite future ones. The
legendary American Attention Span (what is it down to now, five
seconds?) ensures that we will be more easily entertained and disctracted
by something else. Probably some crummy reality show on Fox.
Not
to bring everybody down, drowning in tragedy, but sometimes, history
is important. Take a moment to remember William Schroeder, and Allison
Krause, Jeffery Miller, Sandy
Scheuer, and what happened on May 4,
1970. Then get off the couch and learn what's happening in the
world around you.
And
turn off that damn TV. |
