The Eye Of The Storm

By Robert O’Brien, Jim Weiss and Mickey Davis

As 2023 draws closer to 2024, many Americans feel like they are in ‘The Eye of the Storm.’ This commonly-used phrase is defined by Farley Dictionary of Idioms as: “The center of a tumultuous situation, typically a conflict of some kind. The phrase alludes to the center of an actual storm, such as a hurricane, which rotates around a central point. By extension, a calm period before something worsens.” However, the Eye of the Storm is not as calm as we might think. Memphis, Tennessee, Action 5 TV station’s WMC Erin Thomas weather report on July 14, 2021 described the eye of a hurricane: “It’s the most dangerous inside, waves from all directions slam into each other creating monster waves as tall as 130 feet.”

Years of unrest: 1968, 1992, 2016, 2020

All four of these years have variants of their own “Perfect Storms.” 1968 — In 1968, America was in the throes of growing widespread unrest. The 1960’s (the later ‘60s especially) experienced twin nationwide urban protests and rioting, and anti-Vietnam War protests and rioting. Among the notable events in 1968: • Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination and nationwide riots. • Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. • Glenville Shootout between police and black nationalists. Seven killed (three police, one civilian helping police, and three black nationalists); ensuing rioting killed four more people. • Chicago Democratic Convention protests, rioting, disruption. • 1968 was als...