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(Photo courtesy of Mick Haupt, unsplash.com)<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.\u201d \u2014Aldous Huxley<\/strong><\/p>\n We think of history as a subject we leave behind in school\u2014dates, wars, and dusty documents. But history is not a relic. It is the heartbeat of our democracy. And the truth is: we\u2019re not just bad at learning from history\u2014we\u2019re alarmingly good at ignoring it. And there is a very real, and extremely expensive cost to forgetting it.\u00a0And let’s not forget the subject of civics. That would be the rights and duties of citizenship.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s world, forgetting has become its own form of participation. When we fail to remember, we create the very conditions that allow injustice to return dressed in new clothing. Tyranny never starts with tanks in the street\u2014it starts with a shrug. A blind eye. A collective amnesia. A bunch of lies and promises, and overstepping one’s bounds. Remember that citizenship comes with responsibilities?<\/p>\n We tell ourselves this time is different<\/em>. That\u2019s the seductive lie. But it\u2019s not. The playbook of authoritarianism hasn\u2019t changed\u2014only the cast of characters.<\/p>\n History tells us how democracies fall: not with a bang, but with small erosions. An overlooked lie. A judge replaced. A journalist silenced. Due process ignored. Power and privilege becoming a right. One norm bent, then broken. Then another.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t forget because we\u2019re incapable. We forget because it\u2019s easier. Remembering is inconvenient. It forces us to feel. It requires us to confront uncomfortable truths\u2014that we\u2019ve seen these red flags before and did nothing. That we\u2019ve allowed injustice to wear the mask of patriotism, nationalism, or let cruelty march under the banner of efficiency.<\/p>\n The German philosopher Hannah Arendt warned that the first step to totalitarianism is the erasure of critical thinking. Replace it with slogans. Replace it with fear. Make facts relative. Bombard the narrative with craziness and absurdity.\u00a0 That\u2019s not just history\u2014it\u2019s the morning news, the evening news–the constant messaging.<\/p>\n We can no longer afford to be ahistorical. Our democracy depends not just on voting, but on remembering.<\/p>\n Our fascination with the so-called strong leader is one of history\u2019s longest and most dangerous infatuations. The strongman promises order, simplicity, and certainty. But those promises come at the cost of freedom, truth, and pluralism. They have proven to take societies down the road of tyranny and inhumanity.<\/p>\n Historian Archie Brown, in The Myth of the Strong Leader<\/em>, reminds us: the leaders we revere\u2014Lincoln, Mandela, Washington\u2014did not hoard power. They shared it. They created systems stronger than themselves. They never sowed seeds of confusion. True strength lies in humility and restraint, not in domination. Not in blame.<\/p>\n Authoritarianism never arrives all at once. It\u2019s a slow seduction. We trade liberty for security. We rationalize the erosion of norms as \u201cnecessary.\u201d We prioritize power over principle. And before we realize it, we\u2019re no longer choosing leaders\u2014we\u2019re following rulers.<\/p>\n But this is not a doom story\u2014it is a wake-up call.<\/p>\n There is a redemptive path forward. One where leadership is not about self-aggrandizement, but service. One where remembering our past mistakes allows us to make wiser decisions.<\/p>\n True leaders don\u2019t pretend to have all the answers. They create space for others to thrive. They own their missteps. They surround themselves with truth-tellers, not flatterers. They are givers more than takers. The practice courage, not cowardice. They unify, not divide. They encourage collaboration and cooperation, not chaos and division. They redeem power by using it to uplift, not to crush. Only fools would believe a fool, a pretender, or a con man.<\/p>\n And just as important: the led must also lead. Democracy is not a spectator sport. We don\u2019t just elect leaders\u2014we shape them. We hold them accountable, or we don\u2019t. We teach the next generation what matters, or we let them inherit our silence. We should expect our leader to put the people and not themselves first, and be awake enough to take corrective action when they don’t.<\/p>\n This is where the wisdom matters more than ever. While society has experienced many changes since the United States was formed, there were timelessly good reasons for the separation of\u00a0 powers, checks and balances, and the separation of church and state. Are there any truly wise reasons to discard them now?<\/p>\n In times of fear and uncertainty, the memory-keepers become our guides. They are the ones who\u2019ve seen what happens when the fire of extremism is fanned instead of extinguished. They know the cost of silence. Of compliance. Of choosing comfort over courage.<\/p>\n Their stories are maps. Not nostalgia. Not lectures. Maps.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s not mistake youthful energy for wisdom, nor elder wisdom for irrelevance. We need both.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re older, speak up. Tell the stories that hurt to tell. If you\u2019re younger, listen. Not to obey\u2014but to understand. Because what you forget today might become the crisis you inherit tomorrow.<\/p>\n We are at a fork in the road.<\/p>\n One path is paved with distraction, apathy, distrust, and the myth that \u201cit can\u2019t happen here.\u201d The other is more demanding\u2014but it leads to something worth preserving: a democracy where truth matters, where power is accountable, where the arc still bends toward justice.<\/p>\n Huxley\u2019s warning is more than a clever quote\u2014it\u2019s a commandment: remember.<\/em><\/p>\n Remember that silence is never neutral. That every vote, every protest, every hard conversation matters. That as individual citizens working together we have power–and responsibilities. If our leaders fail to be courageous and trustworthy, it is even more important we must be.<\/p>\n Remember that democracy doesn\u2019t defend itself. People do.<\/p>\n And most of all, remember that we\u2019ve been here before.<\/p>\n And because we remember, we can choose differently.<\/p>\n We must. I must. You must.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Danger of Forgetting<\/h3>\n
The Myth of the \u201cStrongman\u201d<\/h3>\n
Redemption Is Still Possible<\/h3>\n
Our Responsibility–All of Us<\/h3>\n
A Final Plea<\/h3>\n