Occasionally I see someone post thoughts on social media like “I miss the America I grew up in” or “I want to go back to the way things used to be.” The reality is we can’t go back.
We can never go back. The past is in the past. All we really have is the present. Even the future is not guaranteed.
But voices still call for our nation, the church, the world to return to some “better” past, nostalgia clouding our memories.
This is not to demean or belittle those desires. For many people they are noble calls to release the pain, discomfort, and disorientation of a challenging present and unsure future. People a hundred years ago who faced another pandemic, the First World War, and the Depression likely felt the same way. Those who survived the Civil War. Europe after the Black Death. On and on, history offers moments of pain and suffering where people were clamoring for relief.
While these calls seem ever present, they amplify in times like now. They are likely a primary catalyst for the “Make America Great Again” movement. They probably fueled Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1980. Numerous other leaders echoed these sentiments over the years. They have been part of numerous movements, good and evil, throughout history.
If we are completely honest, every season, every era has its good and bad. As good as the 1950s were for white, middle-class Americans, they were equally as challenging for African-Americans. As much as the 1880s were a time of economic prosperity for many Americans, they were disastrous for Asian immigrants. While the war to gain independence from England and the subsequent creation of the United States was a pivotal point in human history, there was a small minority of people who primarily benefited in the years immediately following.
Typically, those calling for a return to “better” times are experiencing a loss of power or privilege, whether they realize it or not.
We are one people, both nationally and globally. We all share this planet, living on plots of land divided by invisible lines and governed by a variety of laws and leaders, a blend of capitalism, socialism, communism, fascist, and more. But at our core we are all alike.
When we live in such a way that one group benefits at the expense of another, there exists a disequilibrium which must be reckoned with. The course of human history illustrates this reality time and time again.
Today is no different. Racial inequity. Economic disparity. Consolidated political power. The strains of imbalance creating polarity and division, frustration and fear, anger and violence.
We cannot go back; we must go forward, leaning into the discomfort.
There are redeemable aspects of nearly every time period, lessons we can learn and questions we must ask. When we allow fear to drive us towards what used to be, we often miss out on seeing what could be.
Let us consider one final question. What can we do today in order to make tomorrow better for someone else? When we step out of our own shoes and walk in someone else’s, we will hopefully see the perils in going back and understand healing only comes from stepping forward with humility and openness.
Breaking Into Peace 