I've spent the past few days on the road talking (mostly) to young people. Many of these conversations have revolved around the difference between education and credentialism. Within that conversation is still another idea--the discomfiting nature of historical study. That is to say, the idea that history was not made to make us feel good, or to raise our self-esteem. On the contrary, an humble engagement with history--one not rooted in opportunism--is, initially, going to be a downer.
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