LXVIII. Appreciating a Shared History is The Only Path to Survival

I wrote and planned this edition before the latest White House embarrassment of 2/28/25. The leadership lessons are on full display. By now, most of you have seen the staged event to depict a shakedown of Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky as something Zelensky caused.

This newsletter has one constant theme: to appreciate history, encourage reading and learning, and assess life for its leadership lessons. This corruption of the American legacy ends when you act from a place of wisdom and trust your senses with what you see and hear.

I recently came to realize that a long-held assumption was wrong.

Though we are all aware of some history, we do not have a mutual appreciation for how we are connected by it.

We know about the Founding Fathers' roles in promoting a revolution, American slavery's dark past and ongoing effects, and westward expansion's breaking of new territories but harmful impact on Native Americans. We're familiar with Thanksgiving, the Civil War, and the World Wars. Furthermore, we have an inclination of the challenges women encountered while advocating for suffrage, access to contraception, and liberation from traditional household duties. A shared comprehension would suggest that the United States has made great strides in three centuries, much of it with unnecessary cost.

Yet what I perceived as a shared appreciation of our history may just be mere fragments of memories. This fragmentation is dangerous for us, for when we have many things in common, we are better equipped to discern truth from falsehood, build trust with each other, and understand how our government's branches and checks and balances work. I assumed that we understood it took centuries to get to where we are today.

This realization underscores the importance of what the media tells us and what historians write about. In this era of information overload and political polarization, the roles of historians and media in shaping public understanding have never been more critical. The way we perceive our past directly influences what we accept as fact or necessity now. This relationship between historical knowledge and contemporary decision-making is particularly evident with figures like Donald Trump, who have challenged every assumption about a shared historical context and democratic norms.

I now realize that many citizens lack a comprehensive grasp of how our government functions compared to other forms of government, how and why essential services originated, or the historical context necessary to critically evaluate what they hear. The proliferation of partisan news sources has created echo chambers where individuals are exposed primarily to information that confirms their existing beliefs. Media figures have gone so far as to write their own history books that reinforce existing biases, reduce exposure to diverse perspectives, and increase political polarization.

Historians may have inadvertently assisted this divide. The temptation to focus on "great men" and pivotal moments can lead to a distorted view of the past that overlooks the contributions of marginalized groups and the gradual processes that drive social change, all elements of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

With the recent preposterous effort to frame DEI as unnecessary, efforts to keep Americans more knowledgeable of its vast and diverse history will be even harder. Let’s consider a few more examples.

Popular narratives of the American Revolution often focus on figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, overlooking the contributions of women, enslaved people, and Native Americans. The stories of many spies and the mysterious Agent 355 remain unknown to the public. In the realm of scientific breakthroughs, Einstein and Newton are household names, while countless other scientists whose work was equally important are forgotten. Percy Julian, an African American chemist who made significant contributions to the synthesis of medicinal compounds, faced systemic racism that limited recognition of his achievements.

Historians and media often reduce social movements like the Civil Rights Movement to a few key figures and events, neglecting the grassroots organizing and everyday acts of resistance that drove change. Consider the case of Rosa Parks, whose act of civil disobedience has become an iconic moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Most Americans have at least heard of Parks' refusal to give up her seat on the bus, yet her long history of activism or the broader Montgomery Bus Boycott to undo a system of apartheid is less well known. By simplifying her story, we risk missing the complex network of individuals and organizations that made the Civil Rights Movement possible and the massive work by everyday Americans to practice American principles.

The combined effect of controlled media and historical oversimplification are having profound consequences for our understanding of the world. The focus on high-profile individuals overlooks many equally important but less visible developments. The media's focus on conflict and sensationalism work to polarize public opinion and hinder constructive dialogue.

This is even with DEI efforts, let alone without them.

A more nuanced and inclusive approach to history and media reporting is more crucial than ever for several reasons. Understanding historical context helps citizens recognize recurring patterns and potentially avoid repeating past mistakes. Many of us assumed Americans would see the parallels with Hitler and Nazism to current events, or recognize when religion was being used for transactional means.

Acknowledging diverse historical perspectives fosters empathy and a more inclusive society. The more genuine history you know, the more you will find kindred spirits. While some make efforts to simplify things as us vs. them, black vs. white, East vs. West, or Democrat vs. Republican, life's reality in a democracy calls for deeper context. That only comes with accurate, contextual, and diverse perspectives on both past and present events, the real job of historians and media.

The fragmentation of our shared historical narrative is not just an academic concern; it is a threat to the very fabric of our democracy. The erosion of this foundation through oversimplification, polarization, and willful ignorance threatens to undermine the progress we've made and the ideals we hold dear.

In the words of James Baldwin, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." If we don’t take lessons from the complexity of history, if we choose to ignore the long arch of the multitudes, we will be stuck in the current malaise for some time, or as another diverse source once said, “we are doomed to repeat it.”

Let’s be frank. As visual creatures, there are many things we don’t want to see, for it will offend our psyches. There are many things we love to see for the joy it brings. I do not blame the community around the Parkland school for wanting to see the school gone. You can imagine all the many reasons for this.

However, out of sight, out of mind is an age-old human coping mechanism that must evolve. We can get rid of many things for the visual reminder they are, but if we want others to not feel the same pain, one must have the courage to get to the root cause. What I have found is that many times, the most politically expedient thing that all can agree on is what gets done, but the genuine problems never get addressed.

We commonly have statues of all kinds of people from war and industry across our communities. We usually show them in a state of battle or a state of grace, certainly not dying or dead, but they serve as certain types of reminders of pain and sacrifice.

A nation of exceptionalism does not hide from facts or problems. In fact, there are many types of visual reminders of this. In almost any Southern town, local historians and elderly residents can show you the “hanging trees” where many Americans were abused and hung because of hate. Such symbols are a powerful reminder of where we were and where we need to go.

The school might have been more powerful to stand and do the same.

This is a short video that is still relevant today. If you live in the South as I do, and you get any vestige of a decent education, you can still see systemic differences. I think about it all the time. I was not aware of it until I went off to college and threw off the old ways of thought. The bible, Buddhism, and Islam talk about taking the journey, and what I see today is a culture that gets comfortable in its belief systems without the journey.

But before you think I’m coming at this from one direction, I’ve been in enough churches and neighborhoods on both sides of the tracks to realize there are lots of blinders on. If you run for office, like I have, and take it seriously enough to walk and talk the beat, trust me, you will learn, you will hear, you will see.

We have much work to do, and the longer we have structures in place that reinforce the idea of being separate but supposedly equal, the more we will continue to muddle along. There is no one answer, so I am not suggesting such, and we have leaders who play on emotion, we have a populace that allows their emotions to be played, and we have a transactional network of making a living that lives off this divide.

While there are many examples of individuals who play victimization where there is none, neither is such a cowardly focus held in a monopoly by any color or party. Maybe the most fitting words are that “all have sinned.”

“Baseball gave me the opportunity to open my mind.” - Earl Weaver

As I’ve entered the years where we are supposed to practice everything we’ve learned as “wisdom”, I understand how much race has been a part of America. I haven’t had the opportunity to read the book, but this is a great cover story on Earl Weaver and Frank Robinson. You know it’s a good read when it changes your perspective. The only Earl Weaver I’ve known of is the one I grew up watching on television as the small, cantankerous manager of the Baltimore Orioles. Even his players complained, but this piece may set some assumptions straight. Frank Robinson, for example, was one of the greatest players ever during the early racist years of a de-segregated baseball league. With Earl Weaver’s help, he then went on to become the first black manager and further sealed his legacy in baseball. I’ve been working on another work of fiction with a baseball theme, so I love this deeper connection. It’s a reminder of the reason for sport.

It’s not just a game.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to read the book, this interview captures the essence of it. If you are a parent of young children, this is well worth the 25 minutes or so to watch. We have lost our marbles when it comes to helping parents raise children. Everything cannot be transactional. There needs to be quality time and places outdoors to meander and explore away from screens. Ensuring that there is an environment out there conducive to kids being safe, active, intrigued, and curious is the primary job of urban planners and civic leaders everywhere. Get this right, and all else that makes a good city great will follow.

Even though I don’t have a great scientific brain, I know enough to appreciate the work that people put into things like identifying asteroids. Recorded history has a few accounts of oddities in the sky and earth strikes, but these things have been going on for much longer. This is a case where the United States and other countries, advanced and proud of their scientific interests, made a public investment to protect the Earth from future strikes. In the process, we also get to know a lot more about our place in the known universe.

If we muddle along on small things in life, especially becoming too enraptured with social constructs that change over time, we will miss these big items that affect the entire planet. I often think that it will be some discovery out there that is going to save us from the shortsighted ridiculousness that we live with in our everyday pursuits.

It’s another reminder of saying and believing, keep looking toward the stars.

I love this for how it upsets so many general assumptions that fuel the tribe of ignorance. Consider the thousands of mathematicians who worked on this problem. Despite all efforts to portray education as a problem, it shows that parts of America are working, and working hard, and loving it.

The facts always outweigh the assumptions if we would only learn and use them.

And Now….

Hope to see you next time. Keep reading, practice your gratefulness, and remember: Be a good human.