The Purpose of History
Certain things and places, from my visit to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to my visit to the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute(I had to look the spelling up) just outside Pendleton, OR, to my visit to the battlefield and cemetery in Gettysburg, PA, to even barely remembering a film about the vote on the Declaration of Independence, history has always carried a certain weight with me. I remember reading it somewhere that when you reach a certain age, the past becomes more important than the present. It can set you in your ways if you let it. But, I want to get more lofty than this.
The purpose of history is not to make us feel good about ourselves. The purpose of history is to lay bare our greatest achievements so we know which mountains we have climbed, AND our greatest failings so we may know where which mountains still lay in front of us, untouched. No victory is ever so total that there's nothing to improve upon. Conversely, no backslide, misstep, stumble, or even fall to the ground is so total that no good can come of it ever.
The purpose of history is to inspire us, to challenge us. For as Martin Luther King Jr. stated with my emphasis, "WE are the people who will get to the promised land..." But it is up to us to define who "WE" are. I will take the largest perspective I can, which may be hard for some to grasp. It isn't just "WE" the black people, or "WE" the white people, or "WE" the red, yellow, brown, or even green people. It's even bigger than "WE" the people of the United States. At it's most lofty, it's even bigger than "WE" humanity.
It is "WE", Earth.
It is in recognizing that ALL life, from the largest whale down to the tiniest microbe has the right to live its life free and as it chooses. Some of you might feel this is going a certain uncomfortable direction. Please read on before you make that judgement.
That said, we all live lives of service to others, in one form or another. Some are just more conscious of it. Every choice we make affects far more than our little selves alone, and this includes species other than our own. Cows, chickens, fish, all creatures edible live with a certain awareness that at the end they will be called to give up their bodies so that others may live. This doesn't necessarily mean that we should or shouldn't. When we do we should be mindful of their sacrifice. Ancient cultures would thank the animal for giving of itself so completely. Salmon is a fish sacred to the tribes of the NW United States, and as such when I do eat salmon I do it in a mindful, even ritualistic way.
Another demonstration of this comes from Ffynnon Oregon, which I've been able to witness in part. Imbolc(Feb 2) seems the start of this, when ashes from the burning of last year's maypole are spread in a certain grove, and the tree to become this year's maypole is selected. At Beltane(May 1), The maypole is erected, and everyone gathers round to dance and twine ribbons round till they're all woven round. At Samhain(Oct 31), The maypole is dug up, tied off, and cut into sections. At Yule(Dec 25), these sections are burned, creating the ashes to be spread next Imbolc. Note that the grove these trees come from is somewhat overgrown, and therefore the space created allows more light in for the adjacent trees, and lessens the fire hazard. There might be more to this story but that's what I remember.
It is not just your history, or my history. It is Earth's history. And every last one of us needs to remember that. "WE" are the people who will get to the promised land. Nobody gets in alone. We either all go in together, or none of us do. No in between. No "Oh, him? Eh, we can afford to leave him behind." No.
"WE"
The purpose of history is not to make us feel good about ourselves. The purpose of history is to lay bare our greatest achievements so we know which mountains we have climbed, AND our greatest failings so we may know where which mountains still lay in front of us, untouched. No victory is ever so total that there's nothing to improve upon. Conversely, no backslide, misstep, stumble, or even fall to the ground is so total that no good can come of it ever.
The purpose of history is to inspire us, to challenge us. For as Martin Luther King Jr. stated with my emphasis, "WE are the people who will get to the promised land..." But it is up to us to define who "WE" are. I will take the largest perspective I can, which may be hard for some to grasp. It isn't just "WE" the black people, or "WE" the white people, or "WE" the red, yellow, brown, or even green people. It's even bigger than "WE" the people of the United States. At it's most lofty, it's even bigger than "WE" humanity.
It is "WE", Earth.
It is in recognizing that ALL life, from the largest whale down to the tiniest microbe has the right to live its life free and as it chooses. Some of you might feel this is going a certain uncomfortable direction. Please read on before you make that judgement.
That said, we all live lives of service to others, in one form or another. Some are just more conscious of it. Every choice we make affects far more than our little selves alone, and this includes species other than our own. Cows, chickens, fish, all creatures edible live with a certain awareness that at the end they will be called to give up their bodies so that others may live. This doesn't necessarily mean that we should or shouldn't. When we do we should be mindful of their sacrifice. Ancient cultures would thank the animal for giving of itself so completely. Salmon is a fish sacred to the tribes of the NW United States, and as such when I do eat salmon I do it in a mindful, even ritualistic way.
Another demonstration of this comes from Ffynnon Oregon, which I've been able to witness in part. Imbolc(Feb 2) seems the start of this, when ashes from the burning of last year's maypole are spread in a certain grove, and the tree to become this year's maypole is selected. At Beltane(May 1), The maypole is erected, and everyone gathers round to dance and twine ribbons round till they're all woven round. At Samhain(Oct 31), The maypole is dug up, tied off, and cut into sections. At Yule(Dec 25), these sections are burned, creating the ashes to be spread next Imbolc. Note that the grove these trees come from is somewhat overgrown, and therefore the space created allows more light in for the adjacent trees, and lessens the fire hazard. There might be more to this story but that's what I remember.
It is not just your history, or my history. It is Earth's history. And every last one of us needs to remember that. "WE" are the people who will get to the promised land. Nobody gets in alone. We either all go in together, or none of us do. No in between. No "Oh, him? Eh, we can afford to leave him behind." No.
"WE"