PERSPECTIVES
With Yancy Seals
Founding Senior Contributing Columnist
The Grand Rising | Infoblips Media Network
Essay No. 001 | August 2026
Reflections on History, Leadership, Community, and the American Experience
Welcome to Perspectives.
Perspectives is a recurring commentary series in The Grand Rising, featuring the thoughtful observations and life experiences of Yancy Seals.
Drawing from decades of personal experience and historical perspective, Yancy explores the issues shaping America today—not to tell readers what to think, but to encourage thoughtful discussion, informed citizenship, and a deeper understanding of the forces influencing our communities.
Each column connects the lessons of the past with the challenges of the present, offering readers context that extends beyond the day's headlines.
Whether discussing history, leadership, social change, or the values that strengthen our communities, Perspectives is intended to inform, inspire, and encourage meaningful conversation.
History Doesn't Repeat... It Rhymes
A reflection by Yancy Seals
"History isn't repeating itself—it is rhyming. The questions facing America today may look different, but many of the underlying challenges are strikingly familiar."
Read the full commentary below.
PERSPECTIVES
A Monthly Commentary
History Doesn't Repeat... It Rhymes
By Yancy Seals
Founding Senior Contributing Columnist
The Grand Rising | Infoblips Media Network
The Perspectives series features thoughtful essays from contributors whose lived experiences help us better understand today's challenges through the lens of history, community, and civic engagement
Looking Back to Understand Today
It isn't just nostalgia—it's lived history.
The weight of that history is exactly why what is happening in America today feels so familiar, so unsettling, and, for many of us, so personal.
People often ask why it feels as though our nation is reliving many of the same struggles that defined the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. My answer is simple: the issues never completely disappeared. They became quieter, and for a time many believed they had been resolved. History, however, has a way of reminding us that progress must be maintained.
History does not repeat itself exactly.
It rhymes.
Growing Up During Extraordinary Times
I was born in the late 1950s and spent my childhood during one of the most transformative periods in American history.
During those years our nation experienced:
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.
The assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy.
The Watts uprising.
The rise of affirmative action.
The landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
These were not simply events in a history book. They formed the backdrop of everyday life.
Yet, while America wrestled with enormous challenges, we were still kids.
We watched Soul Train and Saturday morning cartoons. Batman was our hero. We rode our bicycles until the streetlights blinked twice, drank from the garden hose, and believed tomorrow would be better than today.
That contrast between childhood innocence and national turmoil has never left me.
Perhaps that is why today's challenges feel so familiar.
Sintown: The Community That Shaped Me
Growing up in Pomona's Valwood neighborhood—known to those of us who lived there simply as "Sintown"— taught me lessons that continue to shape how I see America today.
Sintown wasn't simply a neighborhood.
It was family.
It was community.
Neighbors knew each other. Parents looked after every child on the block. Successes were celebrated together, hardships were shared together, and respect wasn't something demanded—it was earned.
Those experiences taught me that strong communities are built on responsibility, compassion, and people willing to stand together through difficult times.
When I look at America today, I often think back to those streets in Pomona.
They remind me that communities grow stronger when people know one another, help one another, and refuse to let division define them.
Those lessons have stayed with me my entire life.
Progress Is Never Permanent
One lesson history teaches is that progress is rarely a straight line.
The advances made during the Civil Rights era were remarkable, but they were never universally accepted. They were victories achieved through sacrifice, determination, and courage—and like many moments in American history, they continued to be debated long after they became law.
History shows us a familiar pattern.
Reconstruction was followed by Jim Crow.
The Civil Rights Movement was followed by political and legal resistance.
Voting rights, affirmative action, and reproductive rights have all continued to evolve through legislation, court decisions, and public debate.
Progress requires participation.
It cannot simply be assumed.
Economic Pressure Changes Everything
Economic uncertainty has always influenced public attitudes.
When families worry about grocery prices, housing costs, gasoline, tariffs, or employment, anxiety grows. Anxiety often fuels division and encourages people to look backward toward what they remember as simpler times.
When I was young, many families believed education created opportunity, one income could support a household, and neighborhoods formed strong communities.
Today, many Americans feel those foundations are under pressure.
Whether those perceptions are entirely accurate or not, they shape how people respond to political and social issues.
Elections Reveal More Than They Create
One observation I have made over the years is this:
Elections do not create division—they often reveal concerns that have been building beneath the surface for years.
Economic uncertainty.
Cultural change.
Rapid technological advancement.
Political disagreement.
These concerns rarely appear overnight. Elections simply become the moment when those concerns are expressed.
Why Today Feels So Familiar
When I look across America today, I recognize many familiar themes.
Political polarization.
Economic uncertainty.
Debate over civil rights and public policy.
Rapid technological change.
Declining trust in institutions.
Generational differences.
Questions about America's future.
The circumstances are different.
The technology is different.
The people are different.
But many of the underlying questions sound remarkably familiar.
History doesn't repeat itself.
It rhymes.
What My Generation Can Offer
Those of us who grew up during the 1960s and 1970s witnessed America endure extraordinary challenges.
We also witnessed extraordinary resilience.
We saw communities rebuild.
We watched rights expand.
We watched our nation recover from tragedy more than once.
Those experiences do not give us all the answers.
But they remind us that America has faced difficult seasons before—and found ways to move forward.
Our generation carries something valuable.
Not perfection.
Not certainty.
But perspective.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the greatest lesson history teaches is not that conflict is inevitable, but that healing is possible.
Every generation faces defining moments.
Every generation must decide whether fear will divide us or hope will unite us.
My hope is that today's generation studies yesterday—not to relive it, but to learn from it.
History may rhyme.
But every generation still has the opportunity to write a better next chapter.
Yancy Seals
Founding Senior Contributing Columnist
The Grand Rising
Infoblips Media Network
"Understanding our past gives us the wisdom to shape our future
Published: August 2026
About the Author
Yancy Seals is the Founding Senior Contributing Columnist for The Grand Rising. His essays combine lived experience, historical perspective, and thoughtful reflection to encourage informed civic dialogue.
John Haynes
Founder & Publisher
Infoblips Media Network
Rise informed. Rise empowered. Rise together