We HOLD These Truths

I’m no historian. Like seriously. In high school I very much was NOT interested in history, at least not the way it was presented. Looking back I realize I was actually interested, but was often distracted by the concerns teens have and the method of delivery. It was boring quite honestly. I didn’t realize I was interested in history mostly because I had coaches for teachers who were not interested in teaching history. They wanted to coach and were being made to sit in a room with teenagers to justify their full time job. As a teacher myself, I support this idea, but it’s not the best use of our resources. That’s not the topic for today though.

One coach in particular who was my US history teacher, sat at the desk, with his feet up, reading the newspaper every day, and we literally copied notes from an overhead projector, or did a fill in the blank from the textbook Monday through Thursday and took a test over this information on Friday. Every week. I made mostly As and learned the basics. But there was no teaching of history in that class. Just the facts, ma’am.

Now if it had been show choir, musical theater, or a song or a play about history, or geography, world cultures, French class, and even diagraming sentences about history? (no, I don’t understand why I enjoy analyzing correct grammar…honestly, it’s a weird fascination and I don’t know where it comes from). I was all about it. But history itself? Dates, and generals, and battles, and famous names I had trouble remembering? Eh. I could take it or leave it. But I quickly learned in college and after meeting my husband, who LOVES history, how much I DIDN’T know. And how much more there is to the STORY and perspective and humanity in history that we may not even realize. And then as I began adulting I slowly started to understand how much I NEEDED to know and understand. I wanted to know the stories. In the last two years specifically, I have craved the stories and perspectives. I can’t get enough. I have learned that there is a HECK of a lot of history that was sugar coated, and white washed, and left out, and barely touched on, and even misunderstood, depending on which side of history you are on.

I’m not dogging coaches. I’m not blaming my teachers. I’m not blaming anyone. This is just MY experience.

My son on the other hand is a history FANATIC. He loves history so much that once when I asked him “what was the cause of World War one?”, he was so excited to explain it to me, that literally three hours later I still didn’t know a whole lot more because I was so distracted by his animated and extensive story telling.

Side note: Am I the only mother that can find herself getting totally lost in just watching her child be excited about something and not hear anything they are actually saying??? Just me?

Second side note: Can any of YOU explain the cause of WW1? No? I didn’t think so. I know it has something to do with Sarajevo and allies and a Duke. I think there’s only like 3 people that really know the answer to this. Moving on.

So one of the reasons for my son’s excitement was my husband and his dad talked about history a LOT when he was little and he would just join in the conversation like a grown up and somehow know things. I honestly think it’s because he loved books and stories. But also, he had a coach for an AP World History teacher that he loved so much, that even when he was failing at one point because he was having trouble managing his work load, he wouldn’t even hear of dropping it for regular history.

Absolutely not he said. No way. Coach Jones was EVERYTHING! He couldn’t imagine having a different teacher. He was his favorite teacher that year, besides his band director. He said “Don’t worry mom, I’m going to pass!” He passed with a 70 something I think (which for AP, I was like, whatever…I let it go) and the whole class got T-shirts that said “I survived WHAP”. He’s an officer in the Navy now with two Bachelor’s degrees in political science and criminal justice, so I’m not worried.

THAT excitement for history is why I have now come to be fascinated with politics and our founding documents. I have watched my son be so enamored by these stories, and sharing that with him and discussing how it relates to the news headlines, that it has been a major bonding experience in our adult relationship. I want to be someone that shares in that excitement for where we’ve been, where we ARE, and where we are going. And I want to share that same excitement with lots of people, with everyone, including you dear reader!

But an excitement for history is not what I’m asking of you. It’s not even an interest in history that is required. You can literally still want to stay far away from politics, and news stories, and just sit by the pool with your umbrella drink and soak in the sun, and also participate as an active member of humanity that cares about history, how it affects the present, and a positive future for everyone. (You’re doing it right now by reading this!)

Speaking of sun, have you ever stopped to really think about how the sun is both good and bad for you? Science is another one of those subjects that I’m only moderately interested in, by the way, but I’m finding some of what I’m learning now quite fascinating.

We live in a polarity continuum every day.

• The sun provides Vitamin D that we need for proper brain development and mood regulation, and it helps sustain all living things, but its harmful rays and heat can also blind, burn, and cause death from heat stroke or skin cancer.
• Water is both essential to life and yet you will die if you try to breathe under water. Water can both wash us clean and cause mold to grow which can be highly toxic to humans. Water can be fun for swimming, and also destroy with a flood.
• Sugar is tasty and makes so many foods pleasurable, and too much of it can cause weight gain, addiction (science likes to debate this, but I personally know it’s true), or even kill you.

The same is true for this same word in our Declaration of Independence. After the initial mumbo jumbo about how basically our “partnership” with England isn’t working out so well anymore and things have to change, some of the most famous first words say “We HOLD these truths to be self-evident”. Most of us were introduced to these words as a kid in history but have we really ever thought much about what that means? More recently, I have really been dissecting what this means to ME. I put the word HOLD in bold for this, my first effort to share my thoughts on the words of this important document because for me, this is one of the most important words in the entire declaration. An argument could be made perhaps that EVERY word is important, but I won’t be arguing that today.

Just like the polarity continuum in the above examples, many Americans see the word HOLD very differently. Some see it as freedom, and security, and like a hug from their country. Others see it as restrictive, stifling, and full of hate. From their view, many Americans feel confident that the laws of the land provide the protection they need to pursue their dreams, full of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While the opposite is true for many others, who feel that the laws, and systems, and people that represent us are HOLDING them back.

For each of us, our life experience can dictate how we feel on this continuum, for one reason or another, and we get to HOLD that truth as our own. We can infer, but we may never fully know the true thoughts of the founding fathers in drafting these important documents on which we govern ourselves in this “great experiment” as a Democratic Republic. Words about “equality” and “men” and “justice” and “govern” all have different meanings to each of us. But we can HOLD the TRUTHS of our history as OUR individual truth. It’s OUR history, as individuals AND as a collective. Good AND evil. Life AND death. Rich AND poor. Black AND white. Or maybe a little grey. Or brown. Or Red and Blue. Or Purple. It’s ALL of these truths.

We CAN hold these truths. We can HOLD more than one truth as a way to see it as part of the WE. We can. If we are willing to try. As humans we all hold grief and heartache and frustration and anger over how things have been, and how things are, and probably have worry over what is to come, but we also have lots to celebrate, and much to be thankful for. We must look for the good in each other and in each person’s TRUTH. So let’s keep going, together.

May God bless YOU. May God bless our troops (#GoNavy!), and may God bless the UNITED States of America, on this our 246th birthday, as we continue to seek truth and justice for ALL and HOLD one another’s truth in our collective hands.

Happy Birthday America!