I don’t remember who asked the question. I do remember it was a voice of irritation that asked, “Mr. Lieberman, why do we have to study history? It’s so boring!” Mr. Charles Lieberman, teacher of 10th grade American History, Weatherly Area High School, Weatherly, PA, responded in a non-defensive way and said, “We study history to learn about the mistakes of the past, so we don’t have to repeat them. We also study it to learn about the good things we did so we might have the courage to do them again. If we don’t do this, life certainly won’t be boring.”
Okay, maybe the last part of his response was just a tad defensive. As a person with an interest in history, I am quite concerned about the current attempt by many to edit out the difficult and, yes, downright evil parts of history. All nations have these. All need to study and discuss them.
Why is there a national Smithsonian Museum to the Holocaust (with an ELCA apology as Lutherans for Luther)? Why study the Holocaust? So it won’t be forgotten lest it be repeated. Americans always need reminding: the Holocaust happened in one of the more cultured nations of the world. It can happen again, anywhere.
Why does the past frighten us? Do we fear some of the evil in the past might somehow be buried deep within us? Human behavior and scripture would remind us: it is! Do you honestly think had you lived in Nazi Germany you would not have been a Nazi and would not have approved of the Holocaust? Few did anything to prevent it. Silence, even for safety’s sake is seen and understood as acceptance. The church had some heroic efforts in Nazi Germany, but mostly it’s actions and inactions were shameful.
We very much need to study the heroic deeds of 1776, the Emancipation, and so many positive parts of our history. We need to do so against the reality of slavery, Jim Crow, denial of women’s rights, and our own Holocaust spread over time with Native Americans. How can you and I understand who America is without studying it in its entirety? How can we understand, for example, native peoples in our country today without an understanding of their history and ours? How can you and I understand who we are as humans and as individuals with no reflection up our sins and sinfulness? How can we do something corrective about our nation’s sins and our own personal sins without study and reflection?
Ignorance is not bliss. It is simply ignorance. It is an openness to committing once again the same sin. While history can be misused by all people, its omission of misdeeds large and small is possibly the greatest misuse.
I remember in high school at basketball games we would chant: “We’re number one!” Sometimes we were, most times we were not. But we were still decent. We still had value and worth to the school, the small town, and each other. It seems we have a great need to be #1 in the world…the best nation and the best people. I have had the privilege to travel to 30 countries. There are a lot of good people and a lot of good countries out there. I have no idea who is best; neither do I care. I just want mine to be as good as it can be for all. As Christians we don’t have to be #1. We only need remember in baptism God said we were #1….for all time. It seems to me we can take it from there even confronting and then dealing with our own dark side. Maybe that is truly being #1.