Not so long ago
Friday, February 9th, 2007
People often complain about history, saying it has no bearing on them because it happened “so long ago”. I want to challenge that theory. Lets use WWII as an example. Ending in the 40s, it was a thing of the past when my mother was born. Yet her father, my grandfather, fought in that war. Chances are one of your family members did too. So, even though it’s been 60 years, it’s still not that far removed from you personally.
Let’s go even further back, and consider the Civil War. Goodness, that was 140 years ago! Practically forever, right? Well, my grandmother was born in 1911, and personally knew people who had been slaves before the war. So how far removed is it really? Just two lifetimes! In the grand scheme of time, the Civil War is a recent event.
Instead of counting years, or even decades, thinking of historical events in the context of lifetimes can make it easier to connect events.
