Some perspective on history

The study of history is important, if for no other reason than it may help us to avoid repeating it. However, at times it is most important for those of us who have experienced history to take the time to be sure that whatever those lessons may be are not lost.  I thought now might be a good time.
It’s hard to believe that half a century has passed since our nation was torn apart over a war and civil rights protests and even riots.  1968 was not a good year. In April Martin Luther King was assassinated.  In June, Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles.  I had heard Dr. King speak at Sacramento State College the previous Fall and just before the primary saw Kennedy when he was campaigning in south Sacramento.  On Election Day, I voted for him when I cast my ballot for the first time. He clearly understood the mood of the country and was willing to stand up to the country’s leaders in his own party.  Robert Kennedy would have won in a landslide in November. The day did not end well.
So what should we make of our current times?  First and foremost is that the issues and disagreements today are trivial with respect to what happened then.  Longer ago, we had a Civil War that split our country literally in two, caused “brother to fight brother” and, when it was over, took the lives of more than 600,000.  Too many things these days are blown far out of proportion to their importance and too often presented as crises.
I have followed politics for a pretty long time, even before I cast my first vote so many years ago.  Without exception I have voted for an individual, rather than his or her party affiliation.  It seems pretty clear that both political parties failed us in 2016, albeit in different ways.  What we do know is that voters have long believed that the country was headed in the wrong direction. In that respect what happened 50 years ago seems to be a lesson that didn’t take.

Reg Page,
Benicia

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