Human history is a thread woven across thousands of years, creating a pattern that repeats throughout: oppression gives way to resistance, resistance produces new frameworks for freedom, and those frameworks are eventually tested again. 

The Living Thread is a series about that pattern. Here we trace the thread from the oldest law codes of the ancient world through the American founding documents, into today, and toward tomorrow.

Along the way, we meet some ordinary people who stood up against tyranny. Their choices laid the groundwork for the possibilities that belong to all of us today.

I wrote this series because of talks I’ve had with my children and others about the current state of American politics, and because of what I’ve spent a lifetime studying and experiencing firsthand. I hold a BA in political science, with a minor in criminology, and a Juris Doctor. I practiced law for many years, focusing mostly on governmental functions and liability. I have both experienced and witnessed abuses of power and authority on personal and professional levels. So while I am not a historian, I am a long-time student of power dynamics — from the personal to the political — and that study, to me, is nothing short of fascinating.

My hope for this series is that it will inspire both optimism and action in those looking to engage in effective ways. The pushes and pulls of factions that have driven back and forth the osmotic boundary between liberty and oppression are not new. It’s all been done before, and it’s being done again now.

The organizers, the activists, and the philosophers each have their roles to play as we move through this phase. By looking at the successes of the past, you can see the thread of human history you hold in your hands and can find your own way to pull it toward a more just tomorrow.

Sherri L Renner, JD