History and When History Becomes Real

I took history in school, and memorized dates just like everyone else.  But it wasn't real to me; just facts and figures I begrudgingly read about.  George Washington: first US President, had wooden teeth and a wife named Martha.  Abraham Lincoln: assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, freed the slaves, yada yada yada.

The founding fathers didn't become real for me until I saw Hamilton recently.  They suddenly became people.  I realized that Aaron Burr wasn't just a villain, but a complicated, nuanced character.  Alexander Hamilton wasn't perfect; he cheated on his wife.

Even history that happened during my lifetime didn't sink in to a white girl in a town of 1200 people in North Dakota.  It was images in the newspaper and later on TV, but had nothing to do with me.  I was 3 when JFK was killed in Dallas; too young to remember.  And in March of 1965, I was 4 and light years removed from Selma, Alabama.  So the Celebration of Life activities this past week for John Lewis have made history real for me once again.

Alabama State Troopers attack SNCC leader John Lewis, Edmund Pettus Bridge, Montgomery, Alabama, March 7, 1965

John was inspired by a letter he received from Martin Luther King, Jr., and when he was 17 he met him for the first time.  MLK asked if he was the "boy from Troy", and John said he was.  They remained friends until MLK was assassinated in 1968.

At 25, on a Selma, Alabama bridge named for Confederate General and local KKK leader Edmund Pettis, John led a peaceful march of 600 two by two up one side of the bridge to affirm their right to vote.  The bridge is curved, so the group couldn't see what was waiting for them on the other side.  When they reached the apex and saw the state troopers massed on the other side waiting for them, they asked for a moment.  They didn't get one, but were instead beaten.  50 people were hospitalized, John Lewis himself was almost killed, with a fractured skull.  That day, history became real for millions of citizens, because it was televised. 

John Lewis never stopped fighting for the rights of others.  He became a US Congressman, where he fought for Native American voting rights and LGTBQ citizens.  His was a life well-lived and worth remembering.

The Future

The future belongs not to the strong, fit, or intelligent - it belongs to those that can adapt.

Life throws curve balls at us all the time; some folks duck and cover, some throw their bat and complain to the umpire, and some adjust their stance and hit the ball out of the park.

The pitch wasn't unfair, it wasn't illegal, not a conspiracy...it just was.  The best way to attack it is to adjust, then hit away. 

You can say "she sure doesn't know a lot about baseball", and that would be correct!  But I do believe that adaptability is the key to our future.  This year, it might mean getting used to wearing a mask when leaving home. 

Adapting doesn't mean that there isn't a problem.  It just means that we choose to address the problem head-on instead of making it so much worse by inaction, disbelief, or anger.

Take climate change for example.  It is a fact that it exists, and it is a fact that humans are a big part of the problem.  For years some people have refused to listen for various reasons.  Their mind may not accept the horrible truth and it shuts down in protest.  Some believe that they are superior and have a right to use the earth's resources as they see fit.  They're the ones that refuse to leave their home after the water has risen to their door, claiming that the government just wants their land.  

2020 threw a lot at us in a short time frame; everything from a pandemic to protests.  Some are adapting, and some are not.  I see some masks in the grocery store, and I see others that insist that a virus is an infringement upon their rights.  I see people use the term "rioters" instead of protesters on social media to justify their thoughts on racial disparities.  And others are organizing to figure out how to fix a problem that's been around since the 1600's. 

Adaptability isn't giving up - it's acceptance that there is a problem, and a willingness to focus on the problem rather than how it impacts ME.  It's disengaging from the emotional part of the brain when given information, rather than immediately thinking about ways to discredit a fact you don't like. 

It's also a life with a lot less anger.