The night of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination Bobby Kennedy appeared at a public event in Indianapolis and quelled a potential riot. What he said that night still resonates:
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country.
Kennedy was cheered by the mostly Black crowd he spoke to, replacing fear with hope, at least for a moment. Fifty-six years later, there are violent protests on college campuses nationwide, and former President Donald Trump, in comparison, has embraced lawlessness and violence. He was fined $9,000 Tuesday for violating a gag order in Manhattan’s election interference trial. Trump claimed afterward that the judge was “rigging” the 2024 election. He continues to claim that our situation is hopeless and we’re going to Hell.
Then, Kennedy quoted the Greek poet Aeschylus and said we should "dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and to make gentle the life of this world."
Now, Trump tells Time Magazine that if he didn’t win the election this year, he wouldn’t rule out violence to get back in office. While we should shudder at the thought, the truth is violence is one thing Americans seem to embrace and enjoy.
Saturday marks the 54th anniversary of the Kent State massacre when anti-war college protesters became the victims of lethal violence at the hands of the National Guard. Student protesters at UCLA were hit with violence from counter-protesters as local law enforcement looked on late Tuesday night. In 1968 the Beatles sang, “If you want money for people with minds that hate, all I can tell is, brother, you have to wait.” Today Trump promotes violence, and bilks supporters of millions of dollars by selling Bibles, a book he’s never read, and golden sneakers he’d never wear.
Times have changed – well at least good music to accompany our violence has changed - but more to the point, politicians no longer seem to grasp the obvious or care about the outcome of escalating violence and divisiveness if they do. Like Trump, they are more concerned about their personal wealth and power. They treat the constituents they should serve as worshiping fans they can and do grift.........