Shining a Light

I love history, because it is the only subject that records all of the significant things that ever took place.  The Uvalde school shooting was a mass shooting that occurred two years ago on May 24, 2022, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States and this was a tragedy that was mishandled by the police, who didn’t act quick enough to save the children.  Some things are worth remembering, so we can learn where we went wrong.  Having history/heritage/awareness months for groups that have historically marginalized identities is a good idea, as this allows us to take a deeper dive into why they were ignored by history.  Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with saying “history is a set of lies [we have] agreed upon”, so having these remembrance months is a good way for us give credit to the people that were left out of history.  The winners are honored and remembered, but the losers also participated in history, and this is a way of letting them have a voice in what happened.

Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier to just celebrate everyone every day, but I don’t think that other people would like that.  It’s a natural inclination to want to feel valued and appreciated by others, and to have a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives.  The need to feel important is something all human beings share, and this desire is rooted in our need for social connection and belonging, as well as our desire for self-esteem and self-worth.  Everybody has goals and desires that are different from others, but we all have the same needs that shape our thoughts and drive us to either succeed or fail.  I don’t see any problems with having history/heritage/awareness months, as this is the way we can remember those who were forgotten or were passed over in the history books.

Written for the JYProvocative Question #33 which asks, “Do you think having history/heritage/awareness months is beneficial?  If yes, how so?  If no, what is a better way to celebrate/drive awareness?”