Why I Am a History Fan
As long as I can remember, i've enjoyed visiting the past in my imagination, something i can do just as easily with a Wikipedia article as I can while watching Lonesome Dove for the tenth time. Growing up, I loved my grandparent's' stories of living on rural farms before and during the Great Depression. Even my parents (who are only 17 years older than me) have fascinating tales of seeing Elvis and the Beatles on TV. Since I live on the East coast, my part of the US has recorded history that stretches back to pre-colonial times, and Native American history that goes back much further. General Sherman's troops marched down the road that lies at the end of my street on their way to burn a Confederate Arsenal whose ruins can still be seen. The US Constitution was ratified by my home state about three miles from where I live.
During the American bicentennial in 1976, I was in the fifth grade, and along with kids all over the country, spent a full year learning colonial history to a degree that has probably never been duplicated. Numerous battles between American revolutionary forces and British troops took place with driving distance at Guilford Courthouse, King's Mountain and Moore's Creek Bridge. I've been to them all.
Unlike many southerners, I am totally fine with the way the Civil War ended up. I'm no believer in the lost cause and I don't romanticize the reasons for the war in any way. It was fought to end slavery in the south, and it ended just as it should have. As a former infantry soldier, I can hardly imagine the discipline and courage of those who fought in that era. I've visited Gettysburg, and stood on the ridge where Union forces held their ground as thousands of Confederate infantry marched in formation across from where their lines formed in front of a religious seminary a mile away. It took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes.
I don't know if those who forget history are really condemned to repeat it. Having always been interested in the past, I am amazed when I encounter intelligent people who can't tell you the decade in which the majority of World War Two was fought. Some can't tell you who was president of the US when they were born. I can't even wrap my mind around being able to name who a pop star is married to while not knowing basic historical facts. I interpret almost everything that is currently happening in the world through a historical lens. I can't imagine functioning without being able to do that. That’s just me.
Obviously, I place a lot of value in curiosity and imagination. I'd much rather watch a historical drama than a superhero movie. It's not that I think the MCU is a bad thing for bad people, it just doesn't spark anything in me. I can't put myself in the character's shoes the way I can when a film has a historical reference, whatever it is.
History is written by the victors, it is said. What we know from books, including textbooks, is what the people who wrote those books want us to know. That is why my life changed forever when I read A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, and Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen at the age of 36. Suddenly, I realized that entire, important and meaningful pieces of American history had been purposefully obscured to keep from realizing their own power as union members, freed slaves, suffragettes and more. The first time I read a book about the formation of Israel from the perspective apart from the Jewish one, I was in disbelief. How come no one ever told me any of this stuff? I had a similar feeling when I learned that 85% of the Nazis who died in battle were killed by the Soviet Army. America did not win the war and save the world from fascism.. It played a part, sure, but a secondary part. More world view and my outlook on history have never been the same, and I am dedicated to learning more than what the power structure wants us to know.
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