What Is History For If Not A Time Like This?

We’ve become accustomed to excessive packaging and instructions and disclaimers — so it’s easy to put education into that recycle pile when we can’t see an immediate need for it.

Do history teachings come to fall into that? Is the risk greater because some topics are so widely known that their importance can be attributed to that?

And it’s easy to ignore history when it seems insensitive to past suffering to compare it to current conditions, or dismiss it when its cause seems unrelatable to current conditions.

You might ask, why do others not think that way when they urge us not to forget history? Are they simply teachers who want to feel purposeful or is there something more?

Now that I’ve hopefully eased the way into considering events that seem extreme, I’ll offer the example of those who have urged people not to forget World War II. During the 2020 shutdown, it’s been common to hear others say our sacrifices are nothing compared to what was asked of us during that war.

But consider another angle, even though it may be most famous to you through fiction. In The Godfather, Clemenza said Hitler should have been nipped in the bud rather than being given the benefit of the doubt early on. Could you think the the same of modern unprecedented events of this year, as inconceivable as it may be to oppose them as people are seen as trying to address health issues as they see them?

Trying to be charitable toward others’ good intentions takes on a different light when one considers having heard “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” Both optimism and cynicism can shore up their arguments and clash with the certainty of the other side. Likewise, the most I can hope for is to reach minds which have openings to the urgency of both sides, not expecting to simply sweep others along by a passionate argument for one side.

Sometimes bringing up a topic itself will be objectionable to others. To get more specific now relative to World War II, let us consider the holocaust. Does the assertion that invoking Hitler in a argument is a losing move resonate with your thoughts, or does your mind consider it based on its sternness? Or do you fear possible reactions to considering such a heavy subject to a lighter one, even if the analogy helps? After bright experiences during the lockdown I was reminded of Anne Frank looking at the sky through her window, and I felt both gratitude and resentment from this — and I could see how either of those feelings show a lack of fortitude for our rights or a spoiled consciousness. Whatever the answer, people initially need to feel both.