I’ve always thought of history as something that happened to people I never met in places I never visited during times past.
But we are all living history today as much as those who lived yesterday. No one has written our story yet, but someone will.
Now always matters, and not only for ourselves. Told or untold, our dramas make a difference. Indeed, our actions, passivity, heroism, or indifference will influence future generations before they can read.
We often hear about the value and virtue of gratitude. Counting one’s blessings lets us recognize what is splendid, touching, and fortunate in our lives.
The just past Independence Day reminds us this is only the first step. Many note that our good fortune leaves us with a debt to repay. Among them was our 16th President.
At a Gettysburg cemetery during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said:
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Death, the thing we don’t want to think about, tends to spur attention in solemn moments when we are overwhelmed by it. Lincoln’s eloquence near a battlefield drew motivation from the carnage of a war that troubled and aged him.
Are we motivated to preserve the freedoms our long-gone ancestors fought and worked for? I hope so.
Being a good citizen involves more than voting. It means we must read about unpleasant events and recognize we have been passed the torch of maintaining the liberty for which other individuals gave their hours, loves, and lives.
In 1946, in the aftermath of WWII and the Holocaust, Eleanor Roosevelt spoke of our failures — the shortfall of humanity to take action before the worst happened. She understood the human tendency to look away:
I have the feeling that we let our consciences realize too late the need of standing up against something that we knew was wrong. We have therefore had to avenge it — but we did nothing to prevent it. I hope that in the future, we are going to remember that there can be no compromise at any point with the things that we know are wrong. We should remember that in connection with all the things that we do here, or in connection with anything at all in the world.
Such work is never completed, and humanity needs us to lend our heads and hands. As we reflect on Independence Day, we all might ask, how can I improve the well-being of men, women, and the planet on which we live?
In words close to the following, John Stuart Mill wrote this in 1867:
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
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The first photo is of a Bald Eagle Along the Mississippi River in Illinois in April 2023. The second is a Texas Sunset in June 2023 with a Shelf Cloud Moving In. Both are the work of the artist/photographer Laura Hedien, with her permission: Laura Hedien Official Website.
I’m struck by the wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote: “I hope that in the future, we are going to remember that there can be no compromise at any point with the things that we know are wrong.” I wonder what she would think in these crazy times we find ourselves now. Thanks for sharing, well said!
Thank you, Brian. I don’t know what Mrs. Roosevelt would have thought, but I do believe people like her would do us a world of good in a difficult time.
We always need people with a moral compass, for there are always difficult times to go through and difficult decisions to make.
Well said , Tamara. Thank you.
Oh my…the John Stuart Mill quote! I feel as if it’s been paraphrased by others over the years. Thanks for bringing the original forward. Yes, yes. Life is not a spectator sport…all need to be engaged for the ‘greater good’. Thanks, Dr. Stein. 💕
It is a challenging moment, Vicki. Many seem not to know what is at stake or, as Eleanor Roosevelt suggested, give sleeping pills to their consciences lest they be overwhelmed by the reality they and we are in, or feel immobilized by dread. Still others sing a happy song or let neighbors engage, as you suggested. Thanks, Vicki! There is still hope if enough of Mill’s “good people” recognize their responsibility to themselves and the world.
Love every bit of that…good people uniting…and your post is a pointed, urgent invitation to do so. Thank you!
So well articulated, Dr. Stein! How rarely we the people think of ourselves as part of living history and the role we are playing in shaping the future of our nation! As you express so well, we cannot close our eyes to “unpleasant events” that make us uncomfortable. It falls to us of the present generations to “[maintain] the liberty for which other individuals gave their hours, loves, and lives.”
Thank you, Rosaliene. The future remains in our hands for now, but none of us get to choose the turning point. The job is always ours and we must welcome and embrace the chance.
A lovely call to action. It seems we often dismiss our responsibility with a feeling that any individual action is just a drop in a bucket, whether it be climate change or political climate or anything else. And I’m speaking personally, that is. But it reminds of a quote from the Dalai Lama, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” Thanks for the reminder, Dr. Stein.
Thank you, Wynne. I agree that some despair over making a difference, thinking their solitary voice has no value. We are all expert at rationalizing, making excuses for what is hard.
The speed and complexity of living can put other matters aside. The anxiety and anger intentionally generated by some of the media can be unbearable.
All this and more can induce people to turn off politics, narrowing their focus to the person in the mirror. We are frail creatures, easily seduced, and busy at making a living, raising children, trying to find joy, etc. All that said, we already see laws of half a century overturned and voting made more difficult in some states. Books are being banned, as well.
The alarm bells are ringing and the coin is in the air. The outcome is in play. We have a chance, for now, but only if we act.
TY, Gerald. Those of us who know better must do better. If not us, who? Who owns the future? We do!!!
Exactly! Thanks, Frank.