As I look to history, and judge the norms and actions of the past, I strive to remember that if I were one of those long dead people, I may well have acted as they often did, in what we now view as truly reprehensible ways. And it's not only the past. I think were I to have been raised elsewhere in the world today, born into a different family, with different cultural and parental values, with different physical and cognitive abilities, I would surely be a vastly different person, and quite possibly hold values that I presently view with complete disdain. So much comes down to luck! History just lays on the pages of the books we read, and whether consciously or not, we cast a disapproving eye on those actions that don't conform to our 21st century self-actualized selves. I often return to this quote from Milan Kundera not as an act of moral self-flagellation but as a somewhat gentle reminder to remember the hindsight is 20/20 benefit that we possess, and the dangerous uncertainties faced by distant fellow humans. "Man proceeds in the fog. But when he looks back to judge people of the past, he sees no fog on their path. From his present, which was their faraway future, their path looks perfectly clear to him, good visibility all the way. Looking back, he sees the path, he sees the people proceeding, he sees their mistakes...but not the fog." Peter T.
Keeping judgment of others and one's self-image in check!
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As I look to history, and judge the norms and actions of the past, I strive to remember that if I were one of those long dead people, I may well have acted as they often did, in what we now view as truly reprehensible ways. And it's not only the past. I think were I to have been raised elsewhere in the world today, born into a different family, with different cultural and parental values, with different physical and cognitive abilities, I would surely be a vastly different person, and quite possibly hold values that I presently view with complete disdain. So much comes down to luck! History just lays on the pages of the books we read, and whether consciously or not, we cast a disapproving eye on those actions that don't conform to our 21st century self-actualized selves. I often return to this quote from Milan Kundera not as an act of moral self-flagellation but as a somewhat gentle reminder to remember the hindsight is 20/20 benefit that we possess, and the dangerous uncertainties faced by distant fellow humans. "Man proceeds in the fog. But when he looks back to judge people of the past, he sees no fog on their path. From his present, which was their faraway future, their path looks perfectly clear to him, good visibility all the way. Looking back, he sees the path, he sees the people proceeding, he sees their mistakes...but not the fog." Peter T.
