Hope and history rhyme

These days seem full of history. On the 20th January Joe Biden will recite the presidential oath of office and be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States of America.

In the 1960’s Joe Biden studied history and political science at the University of Delaware prior to studying law. This was highlighted in this interesting HistoryExtra podcast episode How historians helped build the British empire.

Joe Biden’s belief in history seems to be a longstanding one. The words below from the Irish poet Seamus Heaney have become a signature piece for him. You can read about this here.

History says, don't hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
— Seamus Heaney

Acknowledgement: Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash.

Please share. Let’s get the past and present talking.