Are You?
Sometimes I like to imagine what
life was like in different history events. I really enjoy learning about
history in general, and one of the things that I liked about it when I was
young was that it gave me a platform to make believe. Am I riding on a white
horse next to general Lee in the battle of Gettysburg as artillery balls an
bullets alike fly past, each one not daring to hit either General Lee or I? Am
I walking the streets of Paris during the French Revolution, alongside other
young boys wanting to rebel against kings and queens with enough power to crush
a city? Am I dumping barrels into the Harbor with John Adams and others in
Boston?
A
new topic has interested me lately, which is best described as the Crusades. Am
I slaying innocent people because they don’t believe in the God I do? Am I
establishing myself the king of a country because last night in my dream God
told me to?
Am
I aiming a Gatling gun at a person in a gas mask I know nothing about because
it was the orders given to me? Am I shaping the civilization that will be the
most successful in history, while marble statues are being carved of my face?
Am
I shaping a genocide so horrible it will go down in history, while guns are
being aimed at my face?
Am
I?
Are
you?
I
don’t know.
It is so interesting that you wrote most of this post in the form of questions. It really enhances the topic. For me, history is in part unknowable. No matter how throughly documented, we can never fully grasp past events, for we were not there. And even if we were, our version of history will be different from other's versions of the same moment.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed hearing the questions, Nate, and that final one. How wonderful that your knowledge helped you when you played. I think that's exactly what fiction writers do, or people who write history in poetry, they 'make-believe' but with real facts. Great post!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting how your questions led us from make-believe, through real history, to potentially scary personal reflection. Nice slice!
ReplyDeleteI really like the format of this. THe whole thing, is you asking yourself questions, and I think that is really cool.
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