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My blog posts revolve around my interests and vocation as a historian: the intersection of history and contemporary church life, the intersection of history and contemporary politics, serendipitous discoveries in archives or on research trips, publications and research projects, upcoming conferences, and speaking engagements.
The views expressed in these blogs represent the views of the authors, and not necessarily those of any organizations with which they are associated. |
 Contrary to the old adage “look before you leap” is the sage advice of a friend and colleague from over twenty years ago. At that time, he was an established faculty member and I was a rookie faculty member still writing my dissertation.
One day he tracked me down and asked if I had anything I would like to publish. He was an editor of a journal tasked with finding a few more submissions, and he was doing me a favor by giving me an opportunity to get published. I was working crazy hours preparing lectures, grading papers, administering a program, not to mention writing a dissertation, being a husband and father, part-time pastoring a church, and doing home renovations. My initial response to my colleague was to decline the offer. I expected him to understand my busyness. His reaction was unexpected.
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 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Jack-The_Taking_of_Vimy_Ridge_(CWM_19710261-0160).jpg 1917 was a critical year in the Great War. Despite the optimism surrounding the entrance of America into the war, it was a dark year for the Entente Powers; in that year Russia collapsed, France and Britain were exhausted, and Germany triumphed (in the East). In the midst of the seemingly endless carnage, Canadians continued their support for the war effort. However, on the home front tensions were boiling over as the nation debated the merits of conscription.
In the midst of all the uncertainty and unrest were the Canadian churches, which were trying to find a way forward that aided the nation's war effort, while also providing pastor care, physical and finance assistance for the needy, and hope for their congregants. What follows below are some images from a weekly Anglican periodical that provide glimpses of some of the issues through an Anglican lens. As you will see, the church took seriously its nation-building ethos, dealing with a host of issues in its pages. Of course, their discourse was shaped by early-twentieth century assumptions of race, empire, nation, religion, and so on. 1917 was a dark year, but thankfully the efforts of over 600,000 Canadian soldiers (60,000 deaths and 150,000 injured) contributed to a victory in the following year. It was a sacrifice that we remember now and into the future.  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Ronald_Reagan_making_his_Berlin_Wall_speech.jpg “Nuclear war is inevitable in the next year!”
I can remember the very place and time when I heard that grim prediction of a disaster that was supposedly looming on the horizon. I was in grade eleven, driving down the road in rural Nova Scotia, listening to the radio in my 1972 blue Dodge Dart (with cool chrome rims on all 4 tires). The person who shared such a pessimistic and apocalyptic assessment was serious and strident. He was absolutely convinced that the election of US President Ronald Reagan on 20 January 1981 was the beginning of the end. Most certainly, he argued, Reagon’s heated cold war rhetoric would lead to a clash with the Soviets. And that, he concluded, would inevitably end up with a devastating nuclear exchange. And that, we all knew, would mean the end of life as we know it. I grew up in the cold war era, so I was used to hearing end times scenarios. But this seemed to be different, for it was not coming from a preacher waxing on about the book of Revelation, it was coming from a secular (and I assumed) somewhat informed political analyst. My initial (and admittedly shallow) response was disappointment, for I enjoyed my new car. At a deeper level, I drilled down into knowing about the world of great power politics. Surprisingly, the more I learned over the decades meant the less I listened to supposed “expert” talking heads (especially sycophantic party hacks). As we all know that grim pronouncement of the inevitability of nuclear war never came true. The 1980s were a time of great power tensions, but wiser heads prevailed, and we made it through to today. Which brings me to present. The election of US President Donald Trump has led to similar comments about the uniqueness of our situation, and how we are on a trajectory towards nuclear annihilation. Of course there are real threats in the world, and of course things could go wrong very quickly. But my point is that this is nothing new. My advice for those distressed over such pronouncements is to remember that this is not the first time such fear-mongering has circulated around the inauguration of a US President. Stated simply, today is not so unique. So perhaps find a car, go for a drive, and listen to a channel that is more realistic and hopeful. |
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