Historical Recurrence Poem by Ian (John) McCleary (Son of the Cleric)

Historical Recurrence can be applied to the Insurrection of Jan 6 2020 and Shays Rebellion 1786-7. Both were examples of populist uprisings in the United States aimed at control of the government through mob rule and violence. When seeing how events repeat themselves like this in history, makes the event however terrible it is, less surprising, since it has happened once before. Years ago David MacCullough, the writer of the biography on John Adams, talked about the resilience of the American people. He said we have been through many troubled times and that we always got through it somehow. He said it is helpful to always know what came before us in order to face the present moment and to find our way out of it with courage.
Everything has the appearance of being new, and while some things have changed, human behaviors and motivations have not. A consequence of this is not only from not knowing what was before us, but that we have also inherited a belief in our own immunity from the things we associate with the past. We have been a forward looking people, that when something like a worldwide pandemic hits or an attack by our own people on our nations capitol takes place, we are shocked and terrorized by it, crippled by anxiety and immobilized by depression. We thought it was something we were free from, something that we had escaped. With all the progress we have achieved as a civilization, it came as giant blow to our false security, and the life we took for granted.
We were protected for awhile by a belief in the achievements of our civilization, until that was found to be an illusion we held to.
I want this to be the way I think about the rest of my life and events that are outside of my control. It isn't an easy thing to do. But I want to develop it. Have that sereneness of character to endure the difficulties of living in this world. Everything else is madness, and I don't want any of that.