The weeks have more in them–the days have more in them–than we can keep up with. Sometimes the rush of events and actions overwhelm us. So, I thought you might need reminding, a gentle reminding, of a post I wrote back in early 2019. Well over a year later and the list I compiled needs to be remembered now more than ever. Of particular interest are the 4th and 6th bullet points. Without further ado, I return you to my comments from January 2019 shown below.

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“The televised impeachment hearings of POTUS 45 are officially open. If you haven’t been already, you’ll be inundated with news, quasi-news, fake news, and the like. By all means, pay attention. But you don’t need me to say that. I think my best role, at least today, is to provide you with the list below and the reminder of what it means.

Consider, a century ago, in the twelve months and fifty-two weeks of 1919:

• German revolution rioters are threatened they will be shot
• American suffragettes celebrate the approval of women as federal voters – a new amendment is added to the Constitution
• New boundaries go into effect for nations in Europe that have not existed until now
• The mysterious influenza pandemic, a global killer of millions, has reappeared
• Prohibition begins – another new amendment to the Constitution
• Racial riots spread across American cities and towns
• A professional baseball team, the Chicago Black Sox, is accused of cheating
• The Russian Civil War rages and may spread into other parts of Europe
• The Mexican Revolution appears to destabilize much of Central America
• Terrorist bombings explode in New York City
• Turkish war of independence begins
• First gasoline tax enacted in the US
• Einstein’s theory of relativity is tested, while Mussolini forms the first fascist political party
• Arab nationalists declare independence in Syria
• US Army conducts first gas-engine expedition across the nation
• American Legion holds its first national convention
• New York Yankees purchase rights to Babe Ruth from Boston Red Sox for $125,000, highest amount ever paid for a professional athlete

It will be all too easy for you, in late 2019, to slip into the mindset that “we’ve just never seen anything like this.” I understand. But go back over this list and know that your ancestors a century ago also faced a world rocked with change. Be well.