Ohio

1

"Tin soldiers and Nixon coming
We're finally on our own"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was the biggest band in the land.

It started in 1969, with the initial Crosby, Stills & Nash album. A record no one was anticipating that was a slow burner that truly didn't gain traction until the fall. Although "Marrakesh Express" made inroads on Top 40 radio, it was the opening cut on the LP that opened the doors, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." You heard it once and...

You hadn't heard anything quite like this before. Rock had gotten harder. Amplification was the thing. Acoustic guitars? Harmonies? Multiple movements, i.e. a suite? You dropped the needle and were wowed.

And by this time the goal was to have the best stereo you could afford, to get ever closer to the music, you wanted to be INSIDE the music.

The rest of the record... Was at times heavy, laden with meaning. No one was appealing to the gatekeepers, this was music made on its own terms.

Meanwhile, Neil Young was an unknown quantity to most. His solo albums had no impact. The first time many even heard his name was when it was appended to the moniker of the group. With the release of "Déjà Vu" on March 11, 1970.

This was serious business. The record was encased in a faux-leather jacket. You only wished you could get closer to these gentlemen living in a rarefied air of money, sex and music. This was a tablet brought down from the mountaintop.

And the opener was "Carry On."

"One morning, I woke up..."

This wasn't quite "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," but what could be? Yet, the mellifluous sound was there, pure magic to the ears.

And, once again, it was the Graham Nash song that crossed over to AM radio, "Teach Your Children." But by this time...

Album rock ruled. And FM rock radio was infiltrating more markets. And as big as music was, then came the "Woodstock" movie...a cultural moment that eclipsed the festival itself. It was all there, and you might have lamented you missed the event, but one thing you needed was to get ever closer, to the music.

So the U.S. had been involved in Vietnam for years, to the point where many were fatigued with the saga. The fall of 1969 was one of major protest, most especially the Moratorium in D.C. on November 15th. In this pre-internet era when network news still dominated, the story was everywhere. But the result?

Same old war. And by time 1970 rolled around, the younger generation was licking its wounds. Until Nixon decided to invade Cambodia at the beginning of May.

This was news, if you were paying attention. And those on campus were tuned in and started to protest. We'd seen this movie before, until...

Nixon called the National Guard to Kent State and they fired bullets and killed four.

2

Sure. there were guns, shootings before Kent State, but the young on campus thought they were immune. Shooting deaths took place overseas, in the inner city, not on the leafy green campus.

And then they did.

And a rash of protest ensued. To the point where Nixon himself left the White House in the early morning of May 9th to commune with protesters at the Lincoln Memorial.

And then came "Ohio."

"Gotta get down to it, soldiers are cutting us down"

Unlike the crap in the Spotify Top 50, "Ohio" was not written by committee and massaged for success. Neil Young composed it on inspiration and it was cut on May 21st and released shortly thereafter, which was unheard of back then. And when that guitar intro blasted out of the radio...

It was a rallying cry, you felt like someone was on your side.

So...

All of this was unpredicted spontaneity. Nixon didn't think his attack on Cambodia was going to cause such massive protest, he certainly didn't think that the National Guard, a poorly trained force of weekend soldiers, would get trigger happy and shoot students. That was not foreseen. But that is what happened.

What is going to happen now?

3

Today it's 1970 squared. Trump is acting with impunity, and the general public is paying the price.

Now you've got to know, not every citizen was anti-war back in 1970, although their numbers were growing. Just like every citizen is not anti-Trump today. But what is the unforeseen trigger that is going to touch people off?

It could be ICE. Because despite the hoopla of ridding the country of illegals, the effects of these raids are trickling down to many. You might not have been drafted, but someone you knew was...

You can be totally legal and get caught up in the dragnet. People have lost their lives. At what point is it too much?

America is a tinderbox. It's just one step away from a conflagration.

It happened in the sixties on a regular basis. Can you say "Chicago," the Democratic convention of 1968?

The same thing happened, in that the authorities clamped down, with force...believing all that mattered was order, as if the people involved were not citizens, as if they deserved no protection.

This is what is in the offing. It's not about the government shutdown, it's not about the 2028 election, never mind the 2026 and gerrymandering. It's something you feel more than see. It's the agitation of the populace.

As for those enthralled by Trump... On one hand, there's nothing he can do that will cause them to uncouple, they hate the libs that much. But when the effects of his actions touch them...

That's what's coming down the pike. Trump is not pulling back, he's doubling down, pouring flammable gasoline on the nation seemingly every day. And the left has no ruling power and the right is pledging fealty to Trump and will not stand in his way and...

It's just a matter of when.

And it won't be foreseeable. It will be spontaneous. Nearly instantaneous. Because when you keep pushing...there's ultimately a concomitant push back.

It will not come from elected officials. It will not come from those with money. Those with nothing to lose, who are losing as a result of Trump's policies, are the ones are going to get touched off and react.

This is where we're headed.

You don't have any power, and you're being constricted constantly. If you say anything negative about Charlie Kirk, if you make a bad joke, if...

Disney and the multinational corporations will cave.

But not the people.

It all comes down to the people. And as calm as the country might look today...

Be ready for tomorrow.


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