I went to see Hamilton last weekend (it was absolutely amazing!!!) and while there are so many brilliant things in the writing, the staging, and in the music, I am drawn to certain lines again and again that, to me, are both musical and literary genius. One of those lines is “History has its eyes on you.”
Damn. That line is so powerful.
We have all been living in a global pandemic for over two years. Our country has become more defensive and divisive over things that shouldn’t even need debate (like science). This week, Russia attacked Ukraine, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. And today we woke to news that Russia has ordered their nuclear weapons to be armed. Seriously?
History has its eyes on you.
When do we learn from our past? Let’s go back to Kindergarten for a moment and revisit some of the essential learnings from that collective and largely universal experience. In Kindergarten, we learned to share (we can’t just take something that we want from someone else who has it); we learned to be good friends (we have to be kind to others and treat them with respect if we want to play with them); and we learned that we have to do what we need to do before we can do what we want to do (what would it be like if everyone just went around doing what they want to do all willy nilly?).
We can’t teach these lessons as fundamental to how we live in our modern-day world and then say, “just kidding.” And we have built our society around these fundamental truths about sharing, being friends, respect, and following the rules.
History has its eyes on you.
When we hear this song in Hamilton, George Washington is discussing the importance of setting limits on the presidency, which has become a cornerstone of our political structure. He sings of the importance of thinking ahead to how future generations will remember what we have said and what we have done. Those early Americans were forging a new government and making mistakes along the way, and yet, there was that resolve to follow the rules, share, and be respectful.
What is history going to say about this moment? What future generations will say of these events remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that there are lessons here that must be learned.
Would Russia please report to the principal’s office?