Ghosts of the Past: The Haunting Power of Ideas & the Unfinished Business of History

I’ve spent years of my life in that mind space. I’ve lived in the past. Our ancestors' minds, ideas, thoughts, feelings, preferences, opinions and beliefs have flowed from them into me and us. Their pleasure and pain can become ours without our permission. We can be haunted by history. 

We can exorcize ourselves and support others, too. We can bust the old ghosts of misogyny that rattle their chains when we look in the mirror. We can invoke the sacred names of white witches as we make our voices heard at city council and school board meetings and the ballot box. We can show them how we burn.