by Mike Smith It was 1963 in Dallas, Texas, when an assassin, positioned on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depositary, shot and killed President John F. Kennedy as his open-roofed limousine rolled by. It stunned a nation, but the violence didn’t end there. For the next decade, there were more assassinations. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968. Robert F Kennedy in June of the same year. Four college students were killed by Ohio National Guard troops on the campus of Kent State University for protesting the Vietnam War in 1970. And these were only the highest-profile killings.
In 1968 there were also race riots in our major cities. Curfews were imposed and the National Guard assisted police in keeping the peace. And there were massive protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where protestors were beaten and bloodied in battles with police. It appeared, and many believed, the country was tearing itself apart.
Tensions between those who valued the status quo and those demanding change were boiling over. The country was entrenched in a complex and protracted war in Vietnam. Opposition to the war was growing, as more and more men were drafted and the death toll skyrocketed. The country was confronting more than a century of racial inequality that began with slavery. Separate but equal had been struck down by the courts, and black Americans and their supporters demanded equality in a country that wasn’t ready or willing to make that leap.
Fast-forward some 53 years later, and just over a week ago in Dallas, where once again a lone gunman carried out an unthinkable act: assassinating five police officers. The gunman’s actions were a violent response to the most recent police shootings of African-American men.
For those who remember the tumultuous ’60s, the similarities between then and now are significant. In America today, racial tensions are once again high, and marches for equality are fueled by rising anger, frustration and fear. The fact is, many Americans — of all races and ethnicities — believe our political and economic systems are rigged against them. This environment has propelled the candidacies of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump who, despite vast ideological differences, have challenged the status quo and represent change.
What does this mean for our country at this challenging time? Undoubtedly, there will be continued strife. There’s always tension in a democracy, particularly when people feel they aren’t being heard or that they are being treated unfairly. However, it is different today than in the 1960s.
Our engagements in the Middle East and Afghanistan are far less divisive than our disagreements over Vietnam. Radical terrorism, an all-volunteer military, more limited troop involvement and use of technology have suppressed widespread opposition.
And our race and equality challenges today are different, too. In the early 1960s, we had racist state laws defending the widespread practice of segregation. We still struggle with the lingering after-effects of those racist policies, but today racism is much more personal and individualized — making it harder to see, easier to ignore and more difficult to remedy than integrating a lunch counter.
In the 1960s, too often violence against minorities went unprosecuted, whether they were shot, bombed or beaten. Here is where groups like Black Lives Matter have an issue with policing in America. They believe that police can profile, intimidate, suppress and even kill minorities, indiscriminately, and without fear of prosecution.
Law enforcement officers should be held to the highest standards. Any officer who kills another person without cause needs to be brought before the criminal justice system and prosecuted. On the other hand, we should all accept that there are legitimate uses of lethal force in a civil society — regardless of race. Here’s where Black Lives Matter gets it wrong. They have occasionally protested the use of force before determining definitively which is which. They have also undercut their cause by appearing unwilling to address the major cause of black shooting deaths, which is, black-on-black violence — mostly gang related. Yes, black lives matter, and therefore all lives matter, and not just those killed by police. This is not to diminish the mission of Black Lives Matter. Their work is greatly needed because the fight for civil rights and equality must continue.
A meaningful dialogue is needed to address the distrust civil rights groups have of police. But this type of dialogue will be stymied in an atmosphere of violent protests or retribution.
Our two presumptive candidates for president — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump — have shown little desire to begin this dialogue. Instead, they point fingers, take sides, and avoid the real issue that needs to be addressed, which is the economic empowerment of African-Americans, and indeed all Americans. Their rhetoric further polarizes our nation at the expense of the very people fighting for change, and at the expense of our entire country. Building a united America requires leaders that wish to bridge these differences, not exploit them, and who will be a thoughtful voice of reason.
We have come a long way as a country since 1963. But we have much further to go, together.
Mike Smith was the secretary of administration and secretary of human services under former Gov. Jim Douglas. He is the host of the radio program, “Open Mike with Mike Smith,” on WDEV 550 AM and 96.1, 96.5 and 101.9 FM. He is also a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and is a regular contributor to The Times Argus, Rutland Herald and Vermont Business Magazine.