Historical Context

We visited the Alamo yesterday. It was moving, interesting and caused me to ask more questions than perhaps provided answers.Texas is proud of its heritage and its history. The guides were passionate and compelling as they told the tale of historical events. I could not help but wonder how Mexico, indigenous peoples and Spain remember the Alamo.

I am reminded that there are two key tendencies that impact our remembrances of history:

1️⃣ History has a way of getting distorted in our minds. We can tend to awfulize it and think only of the bad or we glamourize it and think only of the good. Facts are important as we seek to weave them into discovery of the true narrative.

2️⃣ We rarely think of our personal historical moments in terms of how others viewed those same events. Personal remembrance is 'ours' and we too often limit our view of history in light of how it impacted us directly and without consideration of how it impacted others.

Given these tendencies is it any wonder we are confused when collective memory varies so greatly? I challenge us to develop a habit of expanding the lens by which we consider history and consider how a more authentic view may shift our remembrances of national, cultural and personal histories.

-Mindy Muller, CFRE, President/CEO of CDP

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