“You’re living in the past man!”
When current events echo your family history…
“My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.” — Carl Schurz
In the “long and devious roads that lie between the barbarism of the past and the civilization of today” (Robert Ingersoll, 1897), there lie many potholes, detours, and (re)construction zones. Scenic views can momentarily take your breath away, but tragic accidents can permanently do so. Often, the “thin veneer of civilization” cracks in ways that echo our past. Unfortunately, we were once again reminded of that this week.
As both Congress and the free press grappled with how to call out racism and stochastic terrorism at the highest level of our government, George Takei saw an analogy to the “Denaturalization Bill” of 1944. Ron Elving reminded us of the nativist discourse of the “Know Nothings” during the 19th century, and William Barber remembered a “Love it or leave it” billboard in Smithfield, North Carolina during the 20th. For…
