Recently, I had a chance to visit Charleston, SC, over the Fourth of July Holiday here in the United States. For those that may not know, it is one of America’s oldest settlements and played a key role in the American Revolution, as well as a nefarious role in the start of our Civil War.
Many people find history boring. But I am in agreement with the famous quote:
- “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.
When one visits historical places, there are usually tour guides who will take you around town and point out where historical events transpired. And alongside of those, you will often see some sort of “Ghost Tours” to point out the most haunted locations in those places. Believe it or not, I like to not only take the legitimate tours, but also avail myself to a Ghost Tour as well. Not because I believe I will see any ghosts, but they are great at pointing out the various places where people have died as a result of history. Too many places are for referencing their significance, but not the cost of that significance. I find that knowing how people died can be just as important as how they lived. How people were treated as they died says much about the actual state of the culture and their value, or the lack of, they placed on life.
I once headed up a small town ministerium, made up of both conservative and liberal pastors. One day, we were visited by a federal goverment official who stated they needed our help. They were trying to compile a list of all the elderly and disabled in our community who would need assistance to evacuate in the case of an emergency disaster. Our jaws hit the ground in disbelief. And all eyes turned to me to respond.
I responded with, “Are you not aware that Hitler and the Nazis compiled such a list and then used it to round up those people to kill those who were considered a drain on their country’s resources or threatened their values because of their faith?” Not only would they have a record of the weak, but also a record of the religious group that nominated them for the list. “Oh, no,” she responded, “We are trying to help people.” And again I responded, “You may have good intentions, but what of the next person in power, can you guarantee that such a list would not be used that way?” The silence was heavy in the room. And finally, I responded, “If there is an emergency, we will be sure to have people in our churches ensure that the less fortunate make it to safety.” The representative quietly exited the meeting. Though she did call back one more time to make another appeal.
Knowing how people have died can save lives if you heed the warnings of history.
Recently, as of this writing, over 170 people died in flash flooding in Texas. Sad to say, this was not the first time this scenario had happened in that area. There is much finger-pointing going on as to how early warnings were issued to leave the area. While many were caught off guard, many stories have trickled out that despite being asked to leave the area, many people did not do so on the grounds because they thought somehow that dying in a flash flood could not happen to them. That was until it was too late, and the waters were already surrounding them.
But as I think back on the meeting with the government official, we remembered clearly the ghosts of history and understood that it could happen to us. And we decided not to let history repeat itself.
Unspoken Theology 