Mamacita says: Is there anyone else out there who can flip through a history book and wonder where everybody is?
So many unsung heroes. Too many.
Far too many genuinely important people get no mention whatsoever, or maybe just a brief mention, in passing. So many people who really ain’t all that get whole chapters dedicated to them; don’t even get me started on General Custer – the man was a complete and total loser.
But. . . where is Madame Walker? Where’s Denmark Vesey? Clara Barton? Laura Bridgeman? Maria Mitchell? Amelia Bloomer? (Guess what got named after her?) Where is Elizabeth Blackwell? Marie Curie? Ira Hayes? Thomas H. Perkins? Joseph Lister? Louis Pasteur? Yuri Gagarin? Frances Willard? Lucy Stone? Sojourner Truth? Nikola Tesla? Miep Gies? King Haakon VII of Norway? Laika? And so many more. . . .
Our children don’t know who these people are. Some of their parents don’t, either.
Most of the time, in any kind of drama, the most important participants are not the ones in the limelight. The most important participants are standing in the wings, or behind the curtains, actually DOING something. They understand that it’s the “DOING something” that’s important, not the”being seen in the vicinity of people who are doing something”.
These people are did things, awesome things, things that helped shape our lives today. Inspiring things. Brave things. But how many of you actually know who they were and what it was they did?
Erma Bombeck was right spot-on: “Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.
The people who get all the attention and acclaim in our society are often the most undeserving of it. It’s sad but true. I think most of the people you’re referring to never cared whether they became famous or not — and that’s definitely a sign they were on the right track!
This is why I love that I’m raising kids in the age of the internet. We used to go diving into some random name that popped up to learn more about them. It’s sad that they’re not given space on pages, but that won’t stop their stories from being read anymore… as long as we keep looking for them.