Some days it seems like the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and anything we try to do will just make things worse. (There are assumptions in that statement, such as that it's bad for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. Let's not digress into whether these things are good or bad at the moment.)
I do, however, keep remembering that history often winds up surprising us. That just when it seems like the powers-that-be have gained some sort of lock on control, the unexpected happens. Consider how ruling families in Europe regained control after Napoleon, only to lose it again almost 100 years later. Or the labor movement, which somehow managed to create a 40 hr workweek (with 1.5 pay for overtime) even though the odds seemed stacked against them. You could make a similar story regarding Tammany Hall, and other situations where the powerful seem to have everything in their favor.
So all hope is not lost, even when things seem darkest. A reminder I feel I need to make, particularly in this day and age.
I bring this up because the America I know and love seems threatened by a variety of factors. This is probably not a controversial statement, as survey after survey shows that Americans are unhappy with the direction we are going. What makes my statement different, I think, is that I disagree on what those threats are. It's not Islam, it's not our growing diversity, it's not gay marriage. It's not globalization, or immigration, or the loss of manufacturing jobs in and of itself (though all of those things contribute to the hard times faced by many in America today.)
I have had a fascination with history, with what helps a nation rise or makes a nation fall, in part because I feel America is at a crucial point right now. The decisions we make now can hasten or halt our decline.
Again, on the generic level, I think a lot of people agree with me here. It's the specifics that differ. I think I'll do a couple posts to discuss those specifics, with the caveat that I'm by no means a professional historian. These are just some thoughts or trends I've noticed in the course of reading up on things, and should not be considered rigorous by any means.
I do, however, keep remembering that history often winds up surprising us. That just when it seems like the powers-that-be have gained some sort of lock on control, the unexpected happens. Consider how ruling families in Europe regained control after Napoleon, only to lose it again almost 100 years later. Or the labor movement, which somehow managed to create a 40 hr workweek (with 1.5 pay for overtime) even though the odds seemed stacked against them. You could make a similar story regarding Tammany Hall, and other situations where the powerful seem to have everything in their favor.
So all hope is not lost, even when things seem darkest. A reminder I feel I need to make, particularly in this day and age.
I bring this up because the America I know and love seems threatened by a variety of factors. This is probably not a controversial statement, as survey after survey shows that Americans are unhappy with the direction we are going. What makes my statement different, I think, is that I disagree on what those threats are. It's not Islam, it's not our growing diversity, it's not gay marriage. It's not globalization, or immigration, or the loss of manufacturing jobs in and of itself (though all of those things contribute to the hard times faced by many in America today.)
I have had a fascination with history, with what helps a nation rise or makes a nation fall, in part because I feel America is at a crucial point right now. The decisions we make now can hasten or halt our decline.
Again, on the generic level, I think a lot of people agree with me here. It's the specifics that differ. I think I'll do a couple posts to discuss those specifics, with the caveat that I'm by no means a professional historian. These are just some thoughts or trends I've noticed in the course of reading up on things, and should not be considered rigorous by any means.
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