Those of you who are regular visitors to this space know
that I am a history buff, endlessly fascinated by the study of all that
happened in the past to shape the times in which we live. This, of course, made
me sit up and take notice of this article that ran last month in the Washington
Post: Amazing but True: America Is Only Four Presidents’ Lives Old.
Here’s how it works, in the first paragraph of the article:
“When President Obama
was born (1961), President Herbert Hoover was still alive (1874-1964). When
Hoover was born, President Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was still alive. When
President Johnson was born, President John Adams (1735-1826) was still alive.
And just like that, we've connected present day to the Founding Fathers.”
I don’t know about you, but I found that absolutely fascinating. Here's a chart from the article that shows how the lives of the Presidents overlap, from George Washington to Barack Obama (it's easier to read at the original location)* ...
Of course, it’s very easy to take a simplistic view of
history and draw the wrong lessons from situations that are not equivalent.
This was the message of Richard Neustadt and Ernest May’s wonderful 1988 book Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision Makers.
Even so, the old adage that those who do not learn from history are condemned
to repeat it remains as true today as it ever was.
Have a good day. Enjoy the study of history, even if it's only the history of your family. You'll probably find it fascinating.
More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
* I was born in 1951, and have lived through 13 Presidents ... Herbert Hoover was still alive when I was born.
You gave a refreshing new view of history. And your comment about how people look for the lessons of history sometimes draw the wrong ones from the past.
ReplyDeleteLove to read your views on history and appreciate your study of it. I am more interested in history now that I am older (not old, mind you, just older), and find it really fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI messed around with ancestry.com for a while last fall, and found that I can go back about 400 years (to around 1580) in just 7 non-overlapping generations (my dad, his grandfather, etc.). *THAT* surprised me.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fresh way of looking at history, in my case!
ReplyDeleteThat's a fresh way of looking at history, in my case!
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool chart.
ReplyDeleteFascinating! I'd never have thought that was true. Perhaps that partially explains why the country acts like a 4 year old so much of the time.
ReplyDelete