Haunted by history
Despite the challenges of the past, the world needs you to be bold, and on the front foot.
In the autumn of 1939, France had an opportunity. Hitler had invaded Poland, but the German army was still under-resourced and overextended. France, with one of the largest and best-equipped militaries in Europe, could have struck hard, and perhaps altered the trajectory of the Second World War entirely.
But it didn’t.
Instead, the French military leadership chose caution. They stayed behind the Maginot Line, the great wall that had been built to prevent another trauma like the First World War. And who could blame them? The Great War had scarred an entire generation. Millions lost. Fields soaked in blood. Trauma etched deep into the national psyche. France alone lost 1.4m adult men in the Great War.
The Maginot Line
But here’s the tragedy: in trying to avoid the pain of the past, France may have unknowingly allowed evil to grow stronger in the present. And by the time they did act, it was too late. The cost was far higher.
History, of course, doesn’t repeat, but it does echo. And this echo has something to teach us: when we are governed by the memory of past trauma, we can miss the moment of decisive action. And the end result, was that no matter how much she sought to not repeat the pain of the past, her defences were simply circumnavigated by the enemy anyway.
The personal is political, and spiritual
Trauma, left unprocessed, doesn’t just live in memory. It shapes perception. It clouds judgment. It overestimates risk and underestimates our power to act. This is true for nations, organisations, and individuals alike.
As physician and trauma expert Gabor Maté writes in The Myth of Normal:
“Trauma is not what happens to you. It is what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you.”
If we are not aware of what has happened inside us, we will continue to make decisions rooted not in present reality, but in past injury.
That’s what happened in 1939. France wasn’t weak. But it was wounded. And it was that wound, unexamined and unresolved, that shaped a fatal hesitation.
Are we doing the same?
In our own lives, in leadership, in public life, how often do we build modern-day Maginot Lines? Systems, defences, avoidance strategies… all designed to keep the past at bay, but which in practice stop us responding to the now?
Maybe your past has taught you that speaking up is dangerous.
Maybe failure has taught you to stay small.
Maybe betrayal has taught you that trust is for fools.
But today’s challenges don’t need yesterday’s fears. They need courage formed in healing, not paralysis formed in pain.
A better way forward
We honour the past best not by living in reaction to it, but by learning from it, and choosing to act differently.
That’s what faith, growth, and moral maturity look like. Not the denial of pain, but the refusal to be defined by it.
So whatever your Maginot Line is, personal, organisational, political, ask yourself: Is this protecting me? Or is it preventing me?
Because the battle you’re called to fight today will not wait for your fears to subside. It requires presence, clarity, and courage. Mark Preston has 25 years of experience in purpose-driven organisations and now works to support leaders in the sector who want to make a difference. If that's you, please connect for a conversation.
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