Comments on: Obama won’t be Lincoln (or FDR) for quite some time http://kaiyen.com/blog/2009/01/19/obama-wont-be-lincoln-or-fdr-for-quite-some-time/ Why have 10 blogs on specific topics when you can have just 1 with all kinds of random topics? Thu, 17 May 2012 13:47:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Debbie http://kaiyen.com/blog/2009/01/19/obama-wont-be-lincoln-or-fdr-for-quite-some-time/comment-page-1/#comment-389 Debbie Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:04:55 +0000 http://kaiyen.com/blog/?p=324#comment-389 Interesting perspective. I have long had the opposite sense about history - that EVERY particular time is unique and that we are ALL living through history every day. It's the small stuff, accumulated, that comprises the long-term trends, movements, cycles, and times on which history sheds its peculiar light. My acute sense of living in history was developed from many incidents through which I have lived, incidents that I knew, immediately and without doubt, would be in future history books. The campaign and election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 when I was 11 years old was the first I remember vividly. It was the first election to which I paid attention, and we had many school assignments to help us understand the process and formulate our own opinions on the issues. The Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986 when I was a junior in High School is another "instantly historical" moment for which I have very personal memories. My visit to the Berlin Wall in March of 1989 didn't feel like history at the time, but I was there the week after the man who would end up being the last shot trying to cross to the West was shot. I knew immediately and emotionally in November of 1989 when the wall came down that I was living in history - and I could NOT understand why so many of my fellow college classmates were not as glued to the television as was I. And of course, I remember 9/11/01. Perhaps my sense of living in history also comes from my belief that every life is a story to tell. As a memory preservation coach who helps people organize and celebrate their memories, I am continually amazed at the rich significance of every person's stories and memories. We are history. We make history. We live history. What's your story? Interesting perspective. I have long had the opposite sense about history – that EVERY particular time is unique and that we are ALL living through history every day. It’s the small stuff, accumulated, that comprises the long-term trends, movements, cycles, and times on which history sheds its peculiar light.

My acute sense of living in history was developed from many incidents through which I have lived, incidents that I knew, immediately and without doubt, would be in future history books. The campaign and election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 when I was 11 years old was the first I remember vividly. It was the first election to which I paid attention, and we had many school assignments to help us understand the process and formulate our own opinions on the issues. The Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986 when I was a junior in High School is another “instantly historical” moment for which I have very personal memories. My visit to the Berlin Wall in March of 1989 didn’t feel like history at the time, but I was there the week after the man who would end up being the last shot trying to cross to the West was shot. I knew immediately and emotionally in November of 1989 when the wall came down that I was living in history – and I could NOT understand why so many of my fellow college classmates were not as glued to the television as was I. And of course, I remember 9/11/01.

Perhaps my sense of living in history also comes from my belief that every life is a story to tell. As a memory preservation coach who helps people organize and celebrate their memories, I am continually amazed at the rich significance of every person’s stories and memories.

We are history. We make history. We live history. What’s your story?

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