MAKING HISTORY? THEN MAKE GOOD HISTORY

Making history feels like something you might realize after the fact.

You did something well, felt good about it, then someone says, “That’s never been done before.”

Does that make what you’ve done more important?

Maybe important enough to try again?

If you’re a Russian dictator working to reunite the empire that ended after the Cold War thawed and people wanted to live under a different regime than one prescribed by a Russian dictator, then you’re making bad history.

When people decide what they want, and you don’t have it, what’s next?

Give them what you promised? Shelling, rocket attacks, tanks, and soldiers?

Or try and help give the people what they ask for.

In America we call that voting. That’s our voice in public events, a ballot box.

It works like this:

You notice a problem in your neighborhood, in your county, your state, your region, or a problem affecting the whole country.

Let’s keep it local: You notice a problem with the schools in the district your kids attend.

You sense a heavy handed administrator forcing teachers to change their lesson plans, which books should be in the school library, and a campaign against parent volunteers in the classroom.

But only some parents.

So you run for the opening on the school board to level the field.

You sign up for the good fight, a chance a making history, but really just want a decent educational outcome for the kids.

History The Wrong Way

If you win your election, and the next one, then you’ve become a public figure, and a winner.

People want to follow your success so they do what you did.

Now you have a following of fans doing things the right way.

However, if you won by lying and cheating and changing votes, and blamed the opponent for lying and cheating and changing votes, you may have an even bigger following.

If you won by declaring yourself the only person on earth who can fix the big huge problems on the school board, in the town, the county, state, and nation, you might find yourself painted into the kook corner.

And you should be. After all, who touts themselves as the end-all be-all for all of life’s problems.

And worse, who attaches their self-identity to a lying, cheating son of a bitch to make themselves feel better?

Who wears the swag of a dirt-dealing devil make up to look like the dream angel answering their call, their yearning?

For even better effect, this leader of maximum strength and resolve infects his ignorance on others and calls it ‘common sense.’

Why not stare at an eclipse? Blackmail an elected leader so they’ll do dirt for you in exchange for American assistance? Of course.

If it takes an insurrection to get the vote right, then insurrection it is.

The Pin Action On Bad History

Making history the right way leaves a legacy of greatness, of happiness. Children look up to you, women love you, men want to be you.

Your grace and intelligence are a beacon of hope for the hopeless, a cup of water for the thirsty, food for the hungry.

You may serve your time and move on to the next stage of life with the assurance that you made life better for others. You made a difference.

The flip side of the same coin shows a sloppy bullshitter unleashing his distorted brand of THE TRUTH on an unsuspecting public.

When a pretty boy used to the high life leaves his penthouse, takes the golden elevator down to street level, and tells the great unwashed he’s just like them, that he understands their problems better than anyone, and he alone knows how to fix them?

What to you get? You get screwed. What’s that look like?

It looks like a president who lost their re-election bid calling the Russian leader savvy and a genius for invading Ukraine.

It looks like the Florida Florida barking at high school kids to take their masks off.

“You do not have to wear those masks,” he told them. “I mean, please take them off. Honestly, it’s not doing anything and we gotta stop with this COVID theater. So, if you want to wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous.”

It looks like U.S. senators posting sensitive images.

The bad apple in the barrel doesn’t make the others better.

Making history the right way makes everything better.