Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.01.2018, Side 4

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4 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • January 1 2018
Lord Byron declared, “the
best of prophets of the
future is the past,” which
is why, if we are to correctly
discern what the future may
have to offer, we will likely
find intimations of how to go
forward by studying where
we have already been. This
may seem counterintuitive,
but I’ve been around long
enough to observe that almost
every time I hear someone
talk about something new,
something unprecedented,
something greater or worse
than we’ve ever seen before, it
seems vaguely familiar to me
and I can usually point to one
or two times in the past – or
perhaps even a dozen – when
something similar has already
happened.
In the introduction to his
insightful book, Building a
Bridge to the 18th Century, the
late Neil Postman observed that
“imagined futures are always
more about where we have
been than where we are going,”
suggesting that what we need
to learn from the past, in order
to inform both the present and
the future, might just “show
itself through the windshield
if we look hard enough in the
rearview mirror.” While history
has always been vulnerable
to backward projection
and oversimplification, we
live today in an era largely
characterized by historical
ignorance or at least
indifference.
And what’s seen in society
as a whole is also reflected in
our individual lives. Indeed,
society’s indifference to
history may well be grounded
in the tendency of many
individuals to ignore or deny
their own personal histories.
I often encounter people
who tell me that they strive
to live in the present moment,
paying no mind to what
has happened already and
letting tomorrow take care of
itself. It’s a nice sentiment if
you can pull it off. At other
times, I encounter those who
profess to be futurists, focused
imaginatively on the world
that is unfolding, counting
themselves among the early
adopters and creators of the
future. However, those who
have struck me as living most
fully in the present, with a
strong future orientation, have
been those who are most aware
of the rich history of the world
that came before them, as well
as their unique if fleeting place
in that unfolding narrative.
The most impressive trees are
generally those with deep and
well-nourished roots.
This is why I resonate with
Neil Postman’s sense that the
future – the way forward for
those of us standing in the
present moment – “will show
itself through the windshield
if we look hard enough in
the rearview mirror.” Like
the mirror through which the
apostle Paul said we see but
dimly, the rearview mirror in
which we see our past is, in
Postman’s words, “elusive,
a collection of shadowed
memories immersed in
ambiguities, wish fulfillments,
and oversimplifications.” Even
so, there is something for us to
learn from the image it reflects
back on us. The trajectory that
we trace into the future begins
with a clear vision of where we
have come from.
New Year’s is the season
when we are encouraged to
look boldly towards the future,
making resolutions about how
we will move into it. But I’d
like to encourage all of us to
begin the New Year by gazing
steadily into our own rearview
mirrors, taking stock of the
past year – indeed, all the years
that came before it – in order
to more clearly discern the
trajectory of our lives. Only
then will we find ourselves
in a position to determine
whether to stay the course or
make adjustments as we move
forward into the unknown
future and the adventures that
still await us. It is sometimes
by looking backwards that we
see what’s ahead most clearly.
Stefan’s Saga
Stefan Jonasson
Editor
Lögberg-
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Alicyn, Audrey, Catherine, Jodi, Linda, Stefan