My granddaughter picked an interesting time to study eighth grade US history. The past is especially relevant to everything we’re going through right now. For starters, look at the War of 1812, especially the burning of Washington DC, and ask yourself if picking a fight with Canada is still a good idea. We like to say we’re living through unprecedented times. But everything we’re going through happened before.
Take the controversy with Good Good Golf and Callaway. Why would a multi-billion dollar company produce such an offensive ad? Because that’s the type of advertising companies produced before. Here’s an actual ad Chase & Sanborn Coffee published in 1952.
Domestic violence wasn’t just accepted and common in the past, it was used to sell products and tell jokes. On The Honeymooners, Ralph Kramden’s most famous taglines threatened physical abuse. Good Good Golf and Callaway chose to follow that horrible legacy in 2026.
So did Target when they produced a costume with a design that evoked stereotypical minstrel characters. Although ads and TV shows glamorizing domestic violence disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s, minstrelsy never really faded away. We still see it in the design of cartoon characters, the depiction of Black characters in media, and the way politicians treat Black people and their communities. Why was there no urgency in restoring power to Gary, Indiana after a storm?
The echoes of the past reverberate through every major issue. Look at attempts to purge voter rolls, require IDs (that people must pay to get), and restrict mail-in voting, and you can see the voter suppression tactics of the Jim Crow era. Today’s tech billionaires mirror the robber barons of the Gilded Age, complete with monopolies, low wages, poor working conditions, ecological destruction, pillaging of public resources for private profit, unsafe food, and phony medical advice (but without actual economic growth).
You can’t understand the issues facing our country today without learning the history that shaped them. However, it requires an honest examination of the past, not PragerU-style propaganda. That’s why I still appreciate the history classes I took with Alan Benson at Reseda High School. He taught us critical thinking along with a deep examination of the history that’s often hidden from us. That’s also why history is the core of my upcoming novel, Christina’s Portrait. By understanding the past, we can find solutions in the present and build a better future.
I hope my granddaughter approaches US history with a fearless insistence on learning the facts while developing critical thinking skills to help her understand them. The rest of us would be wise to pick up a history book. We’re living through a test right now.
