Thank you for listening. Here we have Snyder’s final chapter and the epilogue, which I have included together in this final recording.

Snyder concludes this short, prescient work by examining how modern democratic societies oscillate between two dangerous ways of rejecting history: the "politics of inevitability" that assumes progress is automatic, and the "politics of eternity" that mythologizes a fictional past of national victimhood. He argues that only by genuinely engaging with history can young (and all) people avoid these traps and take responsible action to preserve democracy.

Reflection Questions:

Looking at your own understanding of history and current events, how have you seen a national perspective shift between believing progress was inevitable to potentially embracing myths about a "purer" national past? What specific events or experiences have challenged your assumptions about historical progress or national identity?

Snyder warns how both the politics of inevitability ("things always get better") and eternity ("we must return to our glorious past") prevent us from taking meaningful action in the present. Think about a current social or political challenge you care about - how might these mindsets be limiting your ability to address it effectively? What would it mean to approach this issue with what the author calls "historical" thinking instead?

The book concludes by highlighting how important it is for young people to "begin to make history" rather than accepting either inevitability or eternity. What does it mean to you to be "historical" in this sense? What specific responsibilities might that place on us to understand and engage with both past events and present challenges? How might studying history help us imagine and work toward different possible futures?

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