Viewing the Past from the Present
By Alex Ness
February 21, 2022
We've arrived smack into 2022. Perhaps this is the year when humans take
back control over their destiny. Or maybe not.
HISTORICAL CHANGES
There's a phrase that was used often, this event "changed history." Nothing changes what happened in the course of history. History is many things, but this term means changes the course of the future, from this point in time. African Americans in the 1800s would be amazed that Barrack Obama was elected President of the US in 2008. What they'd be really surprised by, is that they no longer existed. If one listens to media and this idiotic phrase. People from that ethnic group/race endured everything they ever had, didn't have power of any sort until Obama was elected. One could argue, safely and heartily that Obama's election meant that African Americans could no longer be thought of as not being represented in the president's office. I find another kind of thinking found in the phrases "Never before" or "Worst ever". The pandemic is one event that sucked, is bad, is worst in memory, but by no means is it the worst ever, nor is it something we've never seen before, and as insult to the idea of limiting the hyperbole, I've heard people say, well the 1919 influenza killed 2 billion people. Well, no, it didn't. Beyond that, we've evidence from years and years ago, that bad things happened, we've no idea how most people lived or survived it all, because they didn't write things down. Either for a lack of writing in their ancient culture, or, the records were wiped out by the events. Wait, am I saying that history doesn't happen unless someone is recording it? Well, yes, kind of. What I am saying is that history isn't what we think it is, it is both more and less. History is what was recorded about an event. An event is everything, but if people don't record it, there is no human perspective upon the records found in the earth, atmosphere or firmament. Human history is similar to time, it is a concept used to aid in providing a context for human existence. (Context for some of the hyperbole, versus reality.)
HISTORY
My skill sets involves
history and myths, not the future, nor science. I am not suggesting that
we should give up, just that I am not the one with the information to
be able to suggest what our future might be. Historians write, often, to explore the human past, in a way, to learn about human events that happened, alongside of knowing what humans do, it helps us understand where we've been. Knowing where we've been leads us to be able to do better if a situation comes around again. Or, by knowing our past we can find our errors, and work to correct the path to failure into one where the right answers are found, and fulfilled. I mention all that, not to say we can't know, we don't know, or we won't know since some people tend to suggest that. However cynical a person is, we can learn a great deal from the past. The past is not perfectly recorded, it has a problem in the voices heard from the past, and the echo we hear isn't always what happened. History is not what happened. History isn't what happened, it is the written record of the past and is prone to have flaws found in how it is written, what facts are known or remain unknown.
The concept of history being biased to the conquerors and dominant forces of culture, was one leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Napoleon understood well. When there are opposing forces, the one who wins will write the history of the event. Hitler might not have been a dullard, but he was evil not someone misunderstood and in reality a thoughtful kind human. Napoleon was nowhere nearly so bad, but we find ourselves in awe of his stunning victories and abilities. In the case of Hitler, he is consigned to the waste bin of history. We don't want to know more of who he was, or why he lied. His powers of propaganda were enhanced by Dr Josef Goebbels, a master of the communication form. Win or lose, that leadership was going to define, refine, and control the narrative of what happened. If the Nazis had won, by 2022, who would know the facts, if those facts are controlled by the victors. In the case of Napoleon, there was a great deal less lying. Perhaps because of his desire properly, not as a dictator of other but to rule as an emperor, a pseudo noble role, he was going to tell the whole story of the events of his wars. He could control who recorded the events, and could also "teach" others of his traits and talents, through the history. In any event, he still was certain, if he lost his wars, he'd not be thought so great.
If History is written by the winning team, we get a bias. History is, for the most part, written by the victors. As such it is important to remember, if you are an inch off the mark, measuring a three foot distance, your projected angle will be wrong by many feet at a mile out. If you consider this kind of error as a bias, you might not know anything by reading the history. If you are not careful to pay attention to the mistakes and lies, and bias, content is all misunderstood. An example of this can be found in the battle of Kadesh (Qadesh) between Egypt and the Assyrians. Ramses the Great's forces were ambushed, and many killed. If you go by the written account in his tomb, Ramses the Great was quick to respond, and led an action that not only saved the day, but inflicted so many casualties upon the enemy, that the battle was won right there. But the records from the other side, and the information drawn from ancient sites, suggest that nobody won the battle, and if Ramses did all that his historian scribes record, it was more to prevent disaster, than to inflict a defeat upon the other side. Had Ramses not recorded his version of events, and with only the possible defeat, archaeological site ruins and perspective from the other side known, we would not give Ramses credit for a victory. I believe what happened was epic, and I do not doubt that Ramses was so brave and quick to respond. The evidence found from the past and records display how we must be considerate of the bias found in any source, official, personal, or casual conversations that include it.
Following the beginning of World War Two, an event happened over the city of Los Angeles. A mystery aircraft, or a small number of such craft, hovered above the city and seemed to portent invasion, or a sneak attack. Searchlights shot upward to illuminate the darkness, and for hours the US military fired into the sky to shoot down what seemed to be above them. After morning broke, the event was over, but for all the shots fired, and after thorough searching, there were no remains of destroyed aircraft, no dead pilots, no transport planes filled with paratroopers found. The only thing found was wreckage from damaged property, and some tragic victims. All damaged or killed came by collateral damage fired by US soldiers, using US weaponry. There were people who reported on the event who were certain they'd seen a dogfight above the city. Some reported hearing only the response from the ground, seeing nothing above them, and hearing no tell tale engines of aircraft. And in the present, there are thinkers who see the event as an example of UFOs taking part in human events/drama.
HISTORY DONE RIGHT
I've 2 degrees in History and Political Science. I taught briefly but have used both disciplines in my life, and I love both fields. I don't see these disciplines as being in any way apart from the human experience. Even if we are separated by time, we can still understand many aspects of the past by simply knowing where we are, and respecting the journey to get to the present. The three comics/tpbs shown below are three perfect examples, in my view, of history and human events as captured in the media of popular culture. Breakthrough considers the fall of the Berlin Wall. Maus portrays the Holocaust using Jews as Mice and Nazis as Cats. They Called Us Enemy is by George Takei, who as a child was in the internment camps that were utilized by the US Government to segregate the Japanese Americans from the rest of American society during WWII. As a personal gut wrenching story, Takei's struggle and experience is made accessible due to the medium used to express it. All of these books are fascinating and powerful.
I'm a fan of many kinds of comics, but less so comic books featuring superheroes as I grow older. While I do take them as a nodding metaphor for a mythological hero, the need for my suspense of disbelief makes the modern package more difficult to accept easily. No, I'm really not saying all comics with superheroes suck. I'm saying that we've told most of the stories and the icons remain powerful, but you must keep a mind to all that's gone before to do anything with modern settings and ongoing characters. Knowing the canon dictates what can and cannot be told, makes me less and less interested. DC Comics tend to feature iconic characters, whereas Marvel has more personal and flawed character studies. As such, it might be that Marvel feels more real, but DC has more powerful and recognizable characters. This might not be a common perception, but iconic characters are more easily considered in alternative story lines, and the reason for this is the fact that the traits that are so recognizable remain so, and the storytelling can be more dramatic and cinematic, with such indelible character types. The comics shown feature some of the very best of the comics by DC called Elseworlds, and they allow a great story with recognizable characters, but come from a different point of view. These books are magnificent and ought to be your first choice for a new way to read comics.
About Getting Reviews from Me
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