Worldview Matters

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise – think on these things. 

Philippians 4:8

The ugliness of the American Conversation at this juncture in our history, and what we can do to influence others within our sphere to pursue excellence, are fundamental concerns for all of us.  We can gain perspective through a brief review of history, and get a bird’s eye view of why events are unfolding as they are today. 

How we view the world around us and our place in it — our worldview –also influences how we approach the study of history and how events and people connect to create new ideas.  By understanding history, worldview, and paradigm shifts, we will be better able to make sound, reasoned decisions which will affect our actions going forward.

History Is ‘Story‘

Many people forget that history is not a ‘subject’ created by textbook authors or by governments. History is at its heart the story of every person who has ever lived — who they were, what they did, why they did what they did, why they went where they went, how they created meaning and purpose out of what sometimes were harrowing situations — which in themselves are part of our history.

 Throughout time, people have organized themselves based on common needs, interests, language, or geography, as well as a myriad of other causes.  History gives us insight into how people gathered together to form societies and from them governments to maintain the beliefs and standards of the cultures which grew from those societies.

For at least three generations, American public schools have reduced vibrant people and sometimes stunning events of world history down to predigested tidbits of what textbook publishers have deemed worthy of mention. As a result, at least three generations of students have been reduced to mere vessels into which those publishers may pour nutrient-deficient data in an attempt to create non-thinkers who would believe that only what is in the textbooks is actually history.

It is time to set the record straight. My hope is that by hearing my perspective, you will gain insight into what we have missed, and what we can do to change how we live our lives and how we teach our children.

History Comes alive

As a home educating family, we chose to study history – and geography, and science, and literature – from the perspectives of the people who actually lived, died, and influenced the world around them simply by being on this earth.

  We read books about people, places, policies, things, ideas.  We studied the differences between ethnically different people groups, and differences among individuals within those groups. We read about the spread of philosophies; of religions; of economies; of governments – the spread of people and the ideas they embraced, as well as ideas they disavowed. We read biographies, autobiographies, factual historical accounts, historical novels, original documents, stories, myths, legends, political essays. And we made what for us were interesting connections.  

worldview influences behavior

We discovered that when the dust settled in every culture, in every geographic region, in every time period, one thing was common among all of them – worldview matters

. What a person believed about who they were, where they came from, why they were here, and what would become of them and their “people” when they died influenced every decision they made, every philosophy they accepted or rejected, every choice they embraced. 

And it hasn’t changed in our world today.

Since the beginning of U.S. history, the people who have come here, lived here, began and raised families here, suffered and struggled here, died here, have believed that this was a country where anything was possible; they understood that this was truly a land of great opportunity, and their success would be determined by their own ingenuity, resourcefulness, and determination to overcome the obstacles and challenges which would plague their journey. I

f they came voluntarily, they saw opportunity, and strove to take hold of it.

If they came involuntarily, they often suffered great humiliation and suffering, often just trying to survive, sometimes accepting whatever might come their way, and trusting that one day, all would come right – but they still believed that freedom was possible.  

If they migrated here long before the land was ‘discovered’ by the then-modern world, they, too, pursued opportunity and better living, by traveling further in, further on, toward the sources of food and survival they believed would provide a better life for them, their families, and their societies. 

Do you see the similarities? Regardless of their origins, all people who ended up on this beautiful continent wanted the same things: food in their bellies, shelter from the storms, purpose for their existence. 

For some, it was definitely easier than for others, and many people suffered cruelty at the hands of ignorant men and women who couldn’t – or wouldn’t – see their similarities, only their differences. 

The worldview which individuals – and by extension families, then governments – adhere to affects everything they believe, say, and do.  It determines how they will live their lives on a daily basis.

Shifting Ideologies

We are currently witnessing in our American experiment what some would call a paradigm shift: “A paradigm shift occurs when our usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way of thinking or acting.  Paradigm shifts often occur around what we call ‘A-ha!’ moments when we suddenly understand something in a new or different way.” (Sherry Buffington, “What can we call a paradigm shift?”, Quora.com)

While many paradigm shifts have been positive and brought marvelous ingenuity and innovation to our society, this current shift has potential to do great damage to our cultural underpinnings. 

It tempts us to believe that, rather than being a place where people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds have equal opportunity to pursue happiness and success, America is inherently racist and therefore intentionally denies certain people groups those opportunities. 

a new dystopia

This new ‘dystopia’ reveals itself in the lack of understanding and common sense among those who incorrectly believe that this country was deliberately created to be ethnically homogeneous and discriminatory, with little to no room for anyone who looks different through no fault of their own.  These are the people who believe that the only way to change what they see as unfairness of opportunity is to completely upend our governmental system, and punish those whom they incorrectly believe have “used the system” to keep them in poverty. 

Even though the evidence against inherent racism, both statistically and actually, proves otherwise, this new, dystopic paradigm ignores the fact that none of us had the privilege of deciding where or into which family we were born, the color of our skin, our native language, our socio-economic status. 

framework for liberty

It is not the fault of those who have individually sought success and pursued the opportunities presented to them, or of our governmental system, but of short-sighted individuals who act unjustly and discriminately within a framework which – in order to promote true liberty for all – must allow them to choose between justice and injustice. 

When the founders of this country determined to separate from England and the tyranny of a system which discriminated between those who had a say and those who did not have a say in how they would conduct their lives, they knew the challenges which would arise. They recognized that the liberty for which they were fighting could only be maintained by a just and moral people, and they trusted that the documents they penned would create the framework for a moral society to flourish. 

If we as a nation continue to choose against morality, then no system of governance will be adequate to prevent discrimination and destruction of our society.  This dangerous paradigm shift bodes ill for our future as a republic “of the people, by the people, and for the people”.

Understanding Isn’t Always Easy

Like you, I don’t have all the answers.   While we didn’t get to choose either our origins or our first environments, we CAN choose how we will live now. We do not have the benefit of having lived the lives of those who came before us, so we can only interpret their lives through what they left behind and what others have discovered about their lives – that is, through the study of history. 

Those who record history do so from their own individual and societal biases based on their worldview: if their view of the reasons for past events and past lives is based on faulty philosophy, then their history will be skewed toward faulty assumptions. The only way for you and me to have a clear understanding of the past is to interact personally with those who lived it.  We do that by becoming students of history, and of worldviews.

One thing has become clear to me: until each of us as individuals is willing to choose to act according to what is “true, honorable, just, pure, commendable”, this nation will not become all that it was created to be – where “all [people] are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…[to] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

And that will require a complete change of heart, mind, and worldview.  It is simple, but it is not necessarily easy.

The study of history and our understanding of it influences our perspective on people and events today and stresses the influence of our worldview over everything we think and do.  Shifts in how we perceive ideas can create societal crises if we don’t base our thinking on sound moral principles. 

Keep in mind that history does not judge people by the intentions of their hearts, but by how they choose to act.  Our belief will influence our actions for good or ill, and we must choose to behave in a way that is consistent with what we claim to believe about who we are, why we are here, and how we will influence our world.

  Our worldview matters.