The concerns most people have about the future are understandable. There is a lot that must be addressed, and attempts to do so have instead caused more confusion than solutions.
Concerns around the economy, about wars and tariffs, about the climate and environment, and especially about technology and its advancements, are concerns that have long since plagued us. The characters may have changed, but the stage remains the same.
Feeling anxious about polarization, inequality, crime, and even the stability of democratic institutions is natural. History has revealed to us a recurring pattern in human behavior and institutions.
Even in the bible, Ecclesiastes verse 1:9, it is said, “what has happened before will happen again; what has been done before will be done again: there is nothing new under the sun.”
Now, does this that even if there is a recurring pattern, that nothing can be done to prevent it? I don’t think so.
History has also proven that it is possible to disrupt the natural flow of things. Once we understand what has been tried, we’re free to attempt an alternative. Best of all, studying the past does not eliminate concerns about the future, but it does replace a sense of helplessness with a clearer sense of possibilities; in fact, it suggests better-grounded options for action.
John F. Kennedy has taken this path, and so has Martin Luther King Jr. There will come periods in history when a select few use all the knowledge that history has to offer to tackle our ongoing conflicts.
Why cannot that be you?