Context matters. I appreciate that there is a lot of anger and resentment in the world today. In some regards, it feels like these are unusually scary times, especially for the more vulnerable among us. It can be easy when confronted with tragedy or great difficulty to lose your sense of context. Because life is lived subjectively, we naturally assume that whatever we are dealing with is worse or, at minimum, equivalent to what has come before. Despite our poetic descriptions of our ancestors’ struggles, we are unable to fully comprehend their experiences and emotions. Secretly, we believe our challenges, although different, are comparable —and perhaps even worse.
Progress is not always easy to appreciate. For the younger emerging generation, they naturally want change to happen more quickly. Since they have no idea how things once were, they are only looking forward to measuring the status quo against a more idealized future. They can be overly judgmental of past generations, holding them to a standard that didn’t exist back then. It’s easy to be a critic reading a textbook. It’s an interesting fact of life that we often forget how hard things once were. We also usually take the efforts of our predecessors for granted. We allow no room or appreciation for their context.
For example, no parent today understands the fear people had moving out west when there was not a scalable federal system of law and order to protect them (and physical violence was never far afoot). What about trying to create a local economy out of nothing with no public infrastructure, banks, or laws to aid commerce? We can’t fathom how difficult it was to reunite the Union and the Confederacy after the Civil War. How can a society right the wrongs of slavery without undergoing dramatic, long-term, systematic change? How many families had to sacrifice their sons to save other nations from evil and destruction? Can most young people even contemplate what it was like to live under the threat of a burgeoning Cold War and the dangers of nuclear conflict? How different would parents and grandparents feel about military solutions today if there were still a draft? Would the Civil Rights Movement have advanced as quickly as it did without a series of personal tragedies and an unyielding and attentive media? All these factors affected the leaders of that time. Of course, they made flawed decisions, but none of us can argue that progress wasn’t and hasn’t been made. And, as a result, we have much better societal problems today.
I get frustrated as much as the next person that we haven’t perfected the interaction between human beings, which would lead to a more civil society. It sometimes feels like we take one step forward and two steps back. I find it perplexing that racial issues persist in this country, despite the undeniable progress we have made. Our system of government is far from perfect, but we thankfully don’t live under the reign and whims of a king. Our Democratic Republic remains strong after being repeatedly tested over the past 250 years. I am less interested in tearing down statues from our past than I am in learning from them. Let’s channel our energy toward making positive future change rather than settling perceived historical scores. Let’s broach our differences in a civilized yet determined way. Instead of blaming those who can no longer defend themselves or whom we know little about, let’s first examine ourselves and rise to the challenge. Let’s raise our collective moral and ethical standards and elect politicians who share these values. Let’s consistently enforce the Civil Rights Laws already on the books. Let’s make safety and opportunity color- and gender-blind in this country.
Finally, we must admit that recent events of police brutality against African Americans are wrong and unacceptable. We should be able to do this without vilifying all police officers and defunding good cops. Let’s support Freedom of Assembly without damaging the property of our neighbors and shop owners. Let’s acknowledge the overwhelming number of good, decent people taking a peaceful stand for the rights of their fellow citizens. Let’s create a future history that we can all be proud of and leave the shackles and misunderstandings of the past behind. Our context is RIGHT now!