That title…a saying we often use when living through what seems to be a tumultuous event. And yet, only a few souls really appreciate what that means. We think of something that “will go down in the history books,” that our kids and grandkids will read about, probably a postage stamp narrative in an abstract and out-of-context textbook, along with other abstract events of the past.

But for most of us, only from well into the future can we appreciate the cultural or geopolitical shifts that change the shape or direction of societies forever. These are tectonic events. Yet, in the moment, in the midst of their happening, only the most visionary can appreciate them.

I am at the moment immersed in history on several levels: For several months I’ve been reading “The Federalist Papers” in an attempt to understand the current partisan divide in our country. I am also reading “Lies My Teachers Told Me,” by James Loewen, a review of American history texts used in America’s high schools; and I watching the tragedy of the Vietnam War, as told by Ken Burns, unfold in my living room. And on top of all that, I am witnessing the shutting down of the world’s economic and social engines in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

History does indeed have many lessons for us. Sometimes we learn them; more often, I pessimistically believe, we don’t. But in the making of history, the players are too engrossed in the moment to think that far ahead. Most are just trying to get by, indeed, to survive in some cases. Sadly, we are creatures of that moment. I can’t help but wonder what that will cost us in the years after the current fears subside.