Richard Cohen
10/5/2010

The tragedy of the Kent State shootings was preceded by hateful rhetoric from Ohio governor James Rhodes. He compared the protestors to communists and Nazis, agitating and poisoning the political atmosphere until American soldiers chose to shoot American students. The current political atmosphere is no less charged, with Glenn Beck calling the president a racist and conservative commentators engaging in anti-Muslim and anti-homosexual bigotry. We would do well to pause and consider where this path has already led so we do not repeat the sins of a previous generation.

Cohen is a weekly columnist for The Post, writing on domestic and foreign politics.

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