Why History? For Bravery, for one.
“What is history for?” … “It makes us brave!”
Adam Tooze tells the story in his newsletter of one of his former history students - a student who found himself a dissenter in Russia, convicted and facing a long prison sentence. This is Adam writing about his student:
But what stopped me dead in my tracks was that phrase in the final line of the opening paragraph.
“For me, as a historian, this is an occasion for reflection.”
Drawing himself up to face his terrible fate, he draws strength from his self-description “as a historian”, strength to withstand the immediate pressure of the situation and to carry on thinking. Rather than sinking into an abyss, it is as if, assuming the historian’s mantle, he can soar out of the cage in which he is being held. He can look back through time and weigh the scale of the abuse to which he is being subjected and the shame it brings on Russia, but also to look to the future, to a moment of day-break, towards a spring that will inevitably come. Historical consciousness is a source of courage.
Five Small Steps to Being Brave
https://www.psychologies.co.uk/5-small-steps-to-being-brave/
The kind of bravery that Adam’s former student showed in the face of catastrophe might have been helped by his self-identity as a historian, but it still required something incredible - something a lot of us might not think we could summon. This article gives us some practical advice on building that muscle, a little bit every day. Here’s one example:
And breathe
You’d be amazed how many very different sorts of brave people relied upon a few slow, measured breaths to get them back on track when the chips were down. Soldiers in combat talked about it, opera singers with stage fright too. The high-wire walker. The labouring mother. All of them harnessing the phenomenal power to calm and focus of the air in your own lungs.
As a two-time laboring mother, I can attest that breathing helps, although I don’t know if I’d list it in my top 5. But I have lost count of the number of times I’ve told a panicking child to breathe. And somehow it does seem to help. The rest of the advice is pretty good too.
Bravery in the face of the future
As in the first article, I do think that bravery benefits from a wider perspective, whether historical or not. Andy Boneau used the long-term perspective on an issue that’s a little closer to many of us than opposing a totalitarian regime. I don’t share Andy’s anti-automobile, anti-zoning point of view, but I think his awareness of how quickly the impossible becomes the routine is worth keeping in mind.
Generations ahead of us will probably read stories about our area that begin like this: “Once upon a terrible time, America’s most educated city planners were convinced that cities optimized for motor vehicle traffic would be the safest and most prosperous.” Things that don’t even cross our minds today as possible outcomes will be boring in their obviousness later.
Consider space:
In 1960, science fiction was the only reasonable place for stories about a group of humans traveling beyond our atmosphere, circling the globe, and returning safely in their ship.
In 1961, Project Mercury launched multiple such voyages, making all sorts of discoveries about how people and machines function in weightless environments..
Consider music:
In 1965, anyone interested in hearing a new band had to either listen live to one of a few radio stations, or suffer through a friend’s attempt to sing.
In 1966, the portable cassette recorder was introduced, making it possible for anyone to make and play recordings without cables and microphones.
Consider city planning:
In 2022, land use planners and politicians still worked under the assumption that the social and physical harms of zoning were necessary and would always exist.
In 2023, a brave local planning department liberated its community from the crushing burdens of zoning, becoming a model for others to follow. (Maybe.)
Maybe. Maybe not.
But maybe we find the bravery to do what our Fusion Era-transitioning communities need most.
Or at least find the bravery to take the next step.