We know it all. At least, we think we do.
It doesn’t take long for most people to render an opinion on a topic, no matter how complex. Often we’ll latch onto the first impression presented to us – a shocking video, the latest news item circulating on social media, a provocative image. It makes the rounds and soon a consensus is reached; everyone is supposed to think a certain way. Those who think differently are branded and marginalized. Depending on the issue, they might be canceled, attacked, and persecuted.
We’ve seen plenty of that recently. We’re living through it right now.
It’s normal to react out of emotion, we’ve been conditioned to respond that way. Our entire media apparatus is predicated on manipulating our emotions to sell an agenda, product, or policy. Those manipulating us want immediate action on our part, and they don’t want us asking too many questions or pondering the variables. They want us to respond without thinking, because thinking leads to revelation, and revelation might just make us pump the brakes.
Controlling our emotions and asking probing questions is much less convenient because many of us don’t have the inclination to study. Studying takes time, and studying history takes more time still. Before we start parroting the echo chamber, prescribing remedies for situations we know next to nothing about and making declarations to support them, we would be wise to pause and consider the history.
How much do we really know about that topic? The truth is we don’t know it all, and not many of us are willing or able to put in the work necessary to learn.
Understanding takes time.
I had a boss once who, after patiently listening to his work crew of bombastic teenagers and twentysomethings ranting about something, walked up and declared the following: “A wise man once told me – much wiser than I – that he rarely ever believes what ignorant people are positive of.” And he walked off.
Fools think they know it all; those with a mind for history know it’ll take time (maybe years, maybe decades) before we’ll even begin to get a handle on the truth of a situation.
But who has time for that?
I need to do something now to show I’m listening, and that I care. Better change that Facebook avatar like everyone else. There, now that I’ve declared my virtue, it’s onto Target to pick up some cheap Made in China products. I hope I don’t have to be anti-China anytime soon.
People speak on topics they only marginally understand and
often make fools of themselves in the process. When the issues are big and
consequential, those false assertions can cost lives. The opposite of our
intentions may manifest. We need to pause and think about how our rhetoric
might amp up a situation. We need to ask for the Lord’s direction about how
we’re supposed to view this issue – and even more so, what we’re supposed to
say about it.
Are we doing that?
We need to learn history to understand the present.
None of that is to suggest we cease speaking out, not by any means. We need more speaking out these days, not less. The refusal to speak up about important issues of the day is the main factor resulting in the worldwide tyranny we’ve been living through. But speaking adamantly without context breeds absurdity. If we want to have an accurate and thoughtful dialogue, it’s prerequisite that our knowledge runs deeper than the spoon feeding us our daily narratives. Sharp marketing and drive-through news will put you in alliance with people you never imagined you’d associate with in more sober times – people with a long history of lying, cheating, stealing, and manipulation.
Broadly speaking, people don’t like history. Rare is it to find a kindred spirit at a dinner party getting giddy after discovering you’ve got a working knowledge of Napoleonic warfare or the Macedonian dynasty. The reason for that is bad teachers and bad writers.
I’ve often said that there are two types of history writers: Those who write history for other historians, and those who write history for everyone else. It’s a shame most of our first impressions of history originated from textbooks.
(All textbooks should be destroyed, by the way; show me one that’s worth its salt and I’ll show you ten books that are ten times better.)
Unfortunately, many of us were conditioned to loathe history in this manner because history is merely storytelling, and good storytelling is something everyone loves. This is why Jesus taught in parables; it’s why grandpas sit the kiddos down on their laps and tell their tales. We love a good story, we just don’t make time for them very often.
We move from day to day in an endless progression of work, meals, travel, and entertainment. We upload information and pass it along without stopping to examine it. How much of that day do we spend evaluating what we’re absorbing, or running it up against a critical eye and a discerning spirit? We skim, we think we understand, and we repeat.
Then it’s onto the next thing.
Do we ever ask ourselves if there might be a hidden, different, or elusive agenda behind that thing that got everyone talking today?
We need to consider the sources and their trustworthiness.
We need to consult others who might have a different take.
We need to commit the time necessary to learn the history, even a little bit of it.
We need to pray before we speak, share, or chant.
The world’s been telling you what to think, feel, and say for ages. In the last few years, they’ve managed to criminalize alternative points of view. That should give us pause, especially when the same sources that have lied to you in their native tongue are trying to sell you a new basket of goods. They’re trying desperately to silence everyone who’s not buying it. This has always been the case and it’s always been evil.
Guard your heart because the enemy knows how to motivate you more than you think. Compassion spurs action, but when that compassion stokes the fires of hatred, look out – you may cross over into the enemy’s camp unwittingly. With limited knowledge and shallow understanding, it’s easy to see how one can find themselves there. It’s much harder to find your way out.
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