Aphorisms on History

Aphorisms on History....

Intelligence is the toleration of ambiguity.

A historian’s job is to complicate people’s understanding of history. Think about it this way: “America won the War of 1812.” That’s a simple concept, and not (er...only partially) correct. Whereas this: “America signed a peace treaty with England in 1814 requiring the return of land in Ontario and legal rights for Indians and slaves.” That is a far more complicated statement and one that is more correct.

Complicating history to non-historians is most important. People need to accept and appreciate ambiguities in history—this will naturally led to appreciating ambiguities among other, living, people. When people appreciate one another, it is much more difficult to be mean. Following through, that means properly studying history can lead to world peace.

The Department of Defense should spend a couple billion dollars to mass-produce “universal” translators because I think everyone would be less willing to go to war with peoples they can understand.

History can not be repeated and never will be. We can not have another Hitler because we had Hitler and anybody who is remotely close to Hitler will be dealt with in a way Hitler was not. This is not to say there will not be atrocities in the future, but rather the atrocities will be a result of new elements, not yet understood.

History does not vindicate people. Leaders like to hide behind this possibility, but the truth is that people are still debating nearly every decision in history and its reverberations.

As of 2011, I think American History ends with the Watergate Scandal. Everything after that point is still too political, rather than historical. You don’t perform an autopsy on somebody still alive and you don’t study a people’s history when their future is still at stake.

The best storytellers complicate the audiences’ understanding of people. The worst writers simplify human beings down into cutouts or caricatures of their true selves.

Most historians focus on two elements of history and hope somebody needs to research one of the two. I want to make my two issues always be the narrative and the future--the later of which relates to everybody. Think about this, which is more interesting to more people: "President Madison and the War of 1812" or "President Madison and the Wars of 2012"?

People are like stars, from far away they all look the same but up close, they all have a unique beauty. Also, most are surprisingly gassy.

Memorization is a display of paying attention. Application is a display of intelligence. Innovation is a display of brilliance.

And most important of all...

[insert picture of Nancy Reagan and Mr. T]

[Where is it? Or there it is!]

History is weird.