The unexpected often happens.
—Plato
Many mornings when we check the news, the headlines announce an event that will alter the course of our lives. If you had the power to change one headline that has occurred in history, what headline would it be? Here are some possible changes:
- Cure for Aids Discovered
- Plot to Assassinate Martin Luther King, Jr. Uncovered
- Hitler Defeated in Poland
- Ghandi Survives Shooting
Perhaps it’s more personal:
- Man Sentenced in Slaying
- Announcing the Birth of Baby Girl
- Audit Reveals Retirement Scam
- All Survive Mass Shooting
It is hard to know what chain of events might be created by our new headlines. With a change to one event in history, other events immediately change or disappear. This activity allows us to imagine the affects one historical moment can have on the world and how it can change the course of our lives and society.
The causes of the events are even more interesting than the events themselves.
—Thomas Carlyle
A version of this post originally appeared in Tapestries: Words of Devotion for the Second Half of Life by Gail Mesplay.
