Sam Smith – One of the problems with reaching
84 years of age is that you discover that history isn’t as important as
you thought it was. At least to others. Fortunately, as a journalist, I
don’t have to sell history, I can conceal it as just another anecdote. Or as an interesting fact, whenever it
happened. Further, I’ve been married to a historian for 55 years so have
learned some of the hazards and solutions involved in speaking about
the past.
Still I’m especially careful when talking to younger folk in order to avoid that “huh?” look. And I realize that many of them know more about slavery than about what happened a few decades ago. Google, in fact, has more than 300 times more mentions of 2010 than of either 1960 or !950, which started the two of the most powerful decades of my lifetime.
If you think that reaching 80 will make you a proud guardian of history, I’ve got bad news for you. No one seems to give a shit what happened back then and while science has done a great job of extending our lifespan it has done virtually nothing to fill it with a usefulness that is respected by those younger than you. You merely join the other victims of how we handle the past. Which includes the fact that as you move to the next paragraph, this one becomes history.
So you can forget it.
2 comments:
You're only 84? OK, I'm 89 and fascinated by elders who are relevant and those who just taking up space. You, m'dear are relevant. Adding the context of what's gone before to reporting on this minute is valuable, even if there are those too dumb, at any age, to get that.
No comments here? There must be plenty of examples out and about.
My husband is a recently retired professor and a documentary film maker. He and a historian here began working on a film about an important figure (locally and nationally) a few years ago. By happenstance the people in this area behind fundraising for a monument honoring the person and my husband came to an agreement on producing a film combining historical information about both the figure and the monument… until recently.
One of the bigger fundraisers decided that certain aspects of the script included factual information that made him uncomfortable.
Now this film may become an exercise in homage to the vanity of some powerful local people. If that happens and a signed contract forces unacceptable compromises my husband will not put his name on a whitewashed version of the story.
Why does history disappear so fast?
Sam Smith – One of the problems with reaching 84 years of age is that you discover that history isn’t as important as you thought it was. At least to others. Fortunately, as a journalist, I don’t have to sell history, I can conceal it as just another anecdote. Or as an interesting fact, whenever it happened. Further, I’ve been married to a historian for 55 years so have learned some of the hazards and solutions involved in speaking about the past.
Still I’m especially careful when talking to younger folk in order to avoid that “huh?” look. And I realize that many of them know more about slavery than about what happened a few decades ago. Google, in fact, has more than 300 times more mentions of 2010 than of either 1960 or !950, which started the two of the most powerful decades of my lifetime.
If you think that reaching 80 will make you a proud guardian of history, I’ve got bad news for you. No one seems to give a shit what happened back then and while science has done a great job of extending our lifespan it has done virtually nothing to fill it with a usefulness that is respected by those younger than you. You merely join the other victims of how we handle the past. Which includes the fact that as you move to the next paragraph, this one becomes history.
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