Dear Humans,

On Friday we learned that the founder of Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, spent the rest of her life advocating against the holiday. She thought it had become too commercialized. Instead of writing heartfelt notes to their mothers, she saw people buying chocolates, flowers, and Hallmark cards.

So she petitioned to have the holiday ended. She called for boycotts of cardmakers, confectioners, and florists. She even got arrested for disturbing the peace while protesting outside of a candymakers convention.

This is just another example of real history being more complex–and much more interesting–than we might assume. Because history is not the simple story of how we got to now. The present is only a momentary pause in the ongoing churn. Where it goes next is completely up to us.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt