History tells us that. . .
With headlines like that, who wouldn’t be afraid right now? Who wouldn’t avoid thinking about our past beyond remembering 1492 and 1776? Well, guess what. History doesn’t TELL us jack-shit. It doesn’t reveal our pre-ordained future like some crystal orb from the magic kingdoms. It doesn’t determine the outcome of the next big event, or the one after that.
What history does do is simply show us hinge points in the long march of human evolution. The operative word is SHOW. As in reveal, not determine.
History is like the internet. Once humanity has experienced a hinge point – it’s posted. It’s there forever. Some hinge points will be trolls, some will be transcendent, and every so often, just to keep it interesting, there will be LMAO moments. It’s part of the collective zeitgeist of human evolution.
As we assimilate the events of this past week, we can focus on hinge points like the McCarthy Era, Jim Crow, the Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition. We can wring our hands and believe that history is telling us we are doomed to repeat such heinous acts.
Or, we can embrace the words in the Declaration of Independence, the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, the 19th Amendment (women’s voting rights), the Civil Rights Act, Roe V. Wade, the Supreme Court upholding gay rights through the 14th Amendment. We can raise our hands in celebration of these golden moments.
Because the absolutely beautiful thing about humanity is this: in the long arc of history, humanity CONSISTENTLY looks at previous difficult hinge points and goes WOW, was that a poor choice or what? What have we learned? How can we do better?
So, what I’m asking myself today is -- how can I embody the words written in our Declaration of Independence -- that all men (and women) are created equal? How can I SHOW that I understand the hinge points in history? Am I choosing to emulate the different, better path, like so many who have gone before? Because in my view, focusing on what the human race has gotten right will secure the future for all of us.
With headlines like that, who wouldn’t be afraid right now? Who wouldn’t avoid thinking about our past beyond remembering 1492 and 1776? Well, guess what. History doesn’t TELL us jack-shit. It doesn’t reveal our pre-ordained future like some crystal orb from the magic kingdoms. It doesn’t determine the outcome of the next big event, or the one after that.
What history does do is simply show us hinge points in the long march of human evolution. The operative word is SHOW. As in reveal, not determine.
History is like the internet. Once humanity has experienced a hinge point – it’s posted. It’s there forever. Some hinge points will be trolls, some will be transcendent, and every so often, just to keep it interesting, there will be LMAO moments. It’s part of the collective zeitgeist of human evolution.
As we assimilate the events of this past week, we can focus on hinge points like the McCarthy Era, Jim Crow, the Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition. We can wring our hands and believe that history is telling us we are doomed to repeat such heinous acts.
Or, we can embrace the words in the Declaration of Independence, the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, the 19th Amendment (women’s voting rights), the Civil Rights Act, Roe V. Wade, the Supreme Court upholding gay rights through the 14th Amendment. We can raise our hands in celebration of these golden moments.
Because the absolutely beautiful thing about humanity is this: in the long arc of history, humanity CONSISTENTLY looks at previous difficult hinge points and goes WOW, was that a poor choice or what? What have we learned? How can we do better?
So, what I’m asking myself today is -- how can I embody the words written in our Declaration of Independence -- that all men (and women) are created equal? How can I SHOW that I understand the hinge points in history? Am I choosing to emulate the different, better path, like so many who have gone before? Because in my view, focusing on what the human race has gotten right will secure the future for all of us.
