Why Is History Always Conveniently Forgotten?

I love history. Now that my age pushes me closer to 50 I realize that I now have history. Living through a few episodes on the world stage gives you a renewed and broader perspective on the present. With apologies to Dickens, it is never the "best and the worst of times." There is always something that is better or worse from the past.

Which brings me to a gripe with which I am currently wrestling. As we are all too painfully aware, the media with government in tow (or the other way around - I'm not sure), is pressing the panic button and invoking Chicken Little's fear. Every day with renewed layoff postings and business failures we are even more certain that the sky is indeed falling. We live constantly in the worst of times. Too bad the Great Depression Generation and those of the WWII era are dying off so quickly now. We need their perspective now more than ever. They could easily shame us into the realization that ours is by far a time unequally blessed. The few stories I remember from my mother and others is enough to keep me grounded in that truth. When did life suddenly become so horrible that we decided to bankrupt future generations in order to remove our temporary pain? Why are we whining so much these days?

In truth, ours is an 'a-historical' era, a problem that cuts across the field of human experience and is not limited to our current economic dilemma. Take the church, for example. Now I am certainly not a Pollyanna to be sure. It is apparent to me that much is amiss in our midst. Yet after reflecting recently at the Symposia about the infamous "walk out" in St. Louis, the great "Battle for the Bible," and all the issues broiling during the tumultuous 70's, I have a hard time convincing myself that all is lost in the Synod and the only choice is to abandon it and a complete failure. If ever there was a time to walk away I would have thought it to be then.

Perhaps you have a different view, and that's ok. My only plea is that when we analyze the present we spend a moment looking back from whence we came. Besides correcting the excesses of reaction, it may also hold hints of direction for the future. Could it be possible that those who came before may hold the solution to problems we face today? Could it be that we have already been down this road and the solution was already found? History is a road map we cannot afford to leave behind on our journey to tomorrow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Historical Roots of the Warham Guild Hood

Image
In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir
Read more

The Firefighter's Cross

Image
[Note: A similar article to this will be shared with my department at their next meeting. During this Lenten season when we are meditating on the significance and meaning of the Passion of our Lord and the Cross at Golgotha, it seemed like one way to offer a witness to the department that captured their interest and yet was not too heavy.] [Editorial Note: In response to a recent comment on this article I have made some changes to the original version of this article especially in regard to references to the so-called St. Florian's Cross. For any confusion the previous unreferenced information may have caused I apologize. I hope that the changes are satisfactory.] THE STORY OF THE MALTESE CROSS In many ways the familiar symbol to the right requires no explanation. It is the universal insignia of firefighting nationwide. Yet the precise origins of this symbol are less clear. The most popular explanation proposes its beginning in the far distant past of medieval Crusaders fi
Read more

KFUO-FM Sale: Editorial from Board of Directors

October 9, 2009 Letters to the Editor St. Louis Post-Dispatch 900 N. Tucker Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63101 RE: “Missouri Synod agrees to sell KFUO” - Oct. 7, 2009 Dear Editor, The ongoing news coverage of the sale of KFUO-FM has been disappointing in its lack of completeness. There is significantly more to the story than has been reported. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) Board of Directors is elected by convention delegates and is responsible—on behalf of the 2.4 million members of the church—for conscientiously evaluating the assets of the church to determine how best to use those assets to further the proclamation, mission, and ministry associated with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Synod’s board has been open about its intentions regarding the disposition of its FM station. Since as early as February 2008, this item has been on the board meeting agenda. Board minutes are made public by posting on the LCMS Web site and summaries are reported in the board’s insert “Board
Read more