Doomed to Repeat?

In the last couple of weeks, I've heard two different people say something negative about having a degree in history. One was about herself, and another was about her daughter. I'm always a bit mystified when anyone seems ashamed of having a degree--no matter what it might be in--just hanging in there, paying the bills, and doing the work is enough to make me respect a person with a degree. Some folks even learn something while they're in college!

Lately, I've wished I knew more about history. I've done some reading, but when you really get down to it, it just isn't that easy to find out what "really" happened. What they teach in school was never very interesting to me, and with every new history class, it seemed that we had to start back at the beginning, and never got much past the Declaration of Independence. The people in the history books certainly never seemed real to me. They weren't human, just men in white wigs who talked funny.

There is no doubt that we live in unique times. Never before has a black person run for president of the United States. That pales, of course, (pun intended), when you think about all the brown and black people who lead countries all over the world. The level of rage and divisiveness we're seeing now may be unprecedented, too. Except when you think back to the early 1960s. And the economic problems we're having now--is there a precedent for those? The answer is yes. What we're seeing now isn't so different than financial crises that have occurred in the past. Not in the Stone Age past, but in the last 40 years.

History is something that both comforts and confronts. When I see that something I'm staying awake at night worrying about has happened before, and most of us don't even remember it, well, that makes me feel better. And when I see that we just keep repeating the same old dumb stuff, then I feel sad. Maybe if I feel sad enough, I'll get out and do something about it!

You just can't depend on your news source to put things in perspective. After all, they exist to sell you something, and if it gives off sparks, it sells a lot faster and a lot better. I find some really good information on Wickipedia. I'm sure there are other internet sites, as well, some even have pictures of those men in white wigs.

Before you give up your night's sleep, read some history. You might learn that now isn't so bad. If not, you may find it so boring, it will put you to sleep!