It is exceptionally challenging to learn history in retrospect. Reacting to the Past allows students the best possible glimpse at a time period and promotes viewing history through the same lens as those who came before us.
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On September 1, 1939, the German invasion of Poland began. In response, the allied nations of Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Yet between Poland and her allies lay Hitler’s new German Reich, and the policies of appeasement practiced throughout the previous decade had allowed it to become an almost insurmountable barrier. As a result, the French and British armies would never end up setting foot on Polish soil.
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Frederick Douglass’ life and work highlight the best and worst of American history. Today, Douglass is generally known for his escape from slavery, but he was also a brilliant thinker whose writings are worthy of serious study to better understand slavery and America itself. His view of America changed over time, but his early understanding was highly critical of this country’s foundation, which he believed was linked to slavery, a sin to which he himself had been subject.
History has been kind to Bobby. It is easier to look back fondly on idealists who spoke of peace, tolerance, and understanding when war and violence dominate the current news cycle. Bobby was not perfect. In fact, he was a tragically flawed man, but he took what he had and strove “to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.” Bobby's mission is still as important today as it was when he died for it. The people together must strive for justice, love, and wisdom if they wish to continue the cause of liberty.
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The black man may not have been treated as a man by his white contemporaries, but the truth remained, even if the people had to undergo a violent conflict to adhere to it. The brutal lessons America learned through the work of Lincoln and the perilous Civil War were required for her to more fully adhere to its great creed that “all men are Created equal.”
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Lincoln is heralded as America's martyr, and rightfully so; but what has made him such an inspiration to countless people is that he was able to accomplish so much while harboring a sometimes crippling melancholy. He emancipated slaves, encouraged Congress to pass the 13th Amendment, and lead the Union to victory in its only Civil War; yet, it was the secret sorrow that haunted his lips and the tears that filled his eyes noticed by the tribesman half a world away, and the more one reads of him, the more one is able to relate to his humanity and his determination to harness the best of his ability to create a force for good.
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This virtue of Roosevelt has been lost in the America of today. Rarely do we see our generation simply putting their nose to the grindstone with a reckless abandon. It seems that today, to work is license to complain. Yet, Roosevelt reveled in the challenge of the daily. We must hearken back to his example. There is a stark need for balance in our lives—a balance of joy and work, beauty and courage. There is glory still to be found; we can find it.
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With these principles in mind, Kennedy set out to push society towards a world where the mutual tolerance of all people would be possible. He understood that while world peace was not within his reach, he could use his administration to lay the foundation where the totality of the world’s citizenry may enjoy the liberties and self-governance given to them by their creator. A world where ideas, texts, and reason allow for prosperity and no one suffers under the iron fist of tyranny.
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In America, Marxist ideologies are often romanticized. Communal work is viewed as caring, corporations as evil, and stark individualism as brash. The plight of the Kulaks paints a different, grimmer picture of Marxist thought. All too often, wherever communism or socialism have been fully implemented, objective slavery, and abject poverty, have followed.
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The all-knowing “they” like to say that history repeats itself and, recently, it seems like they are correct again. The year is 2018 and politicians are again falling for the erroneous belief that tariffs are good economic policy. Late last week,
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In 1879, Congress established in the later part of February the holiday that we celebrate today. It was named “George Washington’s Birthday” to honor our first president. That remains the official name of the holiday, though popular usage has changed. To call this holiday “President’s Day” is a pernicious misnomer that we should abandon for the sake of our civic education and the health of our political system.
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Many people today like to either romanticize or satirize Communism. From young millennials wearing Che Guevara t-shirts to friends jokingly describing things as “communist,” the Post-Soviet world seems to have forgotten its temporal proximity to the horrors of the last century.
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