Lately I’ve found a ton of inspiration in reading some of the older stuff humanity has to offer- Lao Tzu, Marcus Aurelius, Vedic texts, Gilagamesh, a lil Plato for good measure, scraps left behind from folks and places long gone. I love reading for so many reasons- if nothing other than a good ol’ fashioned escape, it’s relaxing for an overactive mind. It can be a way to connect to people- real and imaginary, and of course you might even stand to learn something. History in general was not a main staple of my literary diet up until fairly recently, but as I continue on this quest to become a well-rounded human before I croak, I’m sorta forced to look backwards as much as inwards. There’s a lot of great art and simple wisdom to be found in the old works, and stuff that’s surprisingly relatable, like recipes for bread and 2,000 year old letters between buddies about how shitty politicians are.
But something’s really been messin’ me up here in my “historic journey” lately, and that’s the scale to which just how much art and knowledge has been lost, or in so many cases intentionally destroyed. When you really get to digging around- and apologies to all you history majors, or anyone else who’s well-read or already thought a lot about this- there’s just a whole bunch of stuff that’s nowhere to be found. Most estimates I can find say that we’ve got about 3% of the historic record to work with (paintings, tools, tax records, Dear John letters, you name it). We’ve only got probably closer to 1% of the whole picture if you factor in “pre-history” or all those tens of thousands of years when written human language was undeveloped and/or not widespread. So, then it follows that all human history, as it’s told, is based on a picture that’s 97-99% missing. It’s unfathomable, and in general I get the sense that as a result of our ignorance we greatly underestimate the artistry, intellect and wisdom of our forebears.
To a large extent, I think a populace’s cultural and historical ignorance is a desirable outcome from the perspective of those “in charge”. George Orwell sure seemed to feel that way, and who am I to argue with that guy? It’s a story that’s probably as old as bipedalism. It’s called revisionist history (Orwell called it Newspeak). And it’s fair to say most of written history that’s been handed down- especially if you went to public school in this country like I did- is revisionist history. Mind-bogglingly enough, I found this article discussing revisionist history on a U.S. Government website (National Endowment for the Humanities). No irony there. I’ve got plenty of bones to pick with the article, but I thought the final line smacked of nationalist doom so much so that I couldn’t just brush past it:
“Revisionist history ensures the unending renewal of knowledge of what came before our own days on earth. We should celebrate as well as accept that fact.”*
Yikes. We should celebrate revisionist history? WHAT?! I know, I know, it’s a government website, but still…The bootlickers and lackeys have always been afoot, slyly mixing up the facts with filler and serving it up in an ever-evolving, politically correct newspeak. Revisionist history has rendered the populace at large a calloused, confused and unworldly lot, and that’s great news for all the despots out there.
I’d be remiss not to acknowledge natural disasters and plain ol’ time as major culprits in the great erasure of human heritage. But really it’s us that have been doing it to ourselves and that’s what really hurts. The Minoans, The Sumerians, Carthage, The Ancient Pueblo… hardly anything left at all. The great libraries of Alexandria, Constantinople, Ashurbanipal, the Codices of the Aztec and Maya, or practically anything that was written down in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, long gone. Sure, earthquakes and volcanoes and sandstorms and glaciers and rising seas have done us no favors but the majority of human knowledge- our birthright- is nowhere to be found in large part thanks to cultural cleansing. It’s been happening for at least 3,000 years, and we can see it happening all around us today. We still have banned books and state media in this country, let alone what happens abroad. Censorship, destruction, and a well-honed narrative have always been the weapons of choice for crafty statesmen. And in this brave new world the greatest battle, as it always has been, is the battle for our own minds.
For how scarce and profoundly sad much of the history is, I still take some solace in the feeling that this is the way it’s always been for most folks that ever lived on the planet. It’s pretty much always been a few greedy psychopaths in charge of and feeding the narrative to the “rest of us”, a silenced and sedated majority. I don’t mean that we should just shrug it off and accept our lot while we watch yet another generation of feckless elites plunder their way from cradle to grave. But look, a lotta bad stuff’s been going down a long time, with a lotta bad dudes sweeping a lotta bad shit under the rug, and so it goes. We’ve never been able to rid ourselves of that bad lot. By no means do I intend to minimize current or past atrocities, ignore the nuances, or proclaim to be able to relate even a little bit. These are times of great inequity and darkness, but as far as I can tell, sadly, that’s a pretty human story.
If there’s a cosmic lesson here in the face of such staggering loss of our past as we search for who we are, what is it?
Human beings have always had to deal with scarcity, whether it be with regards to time or resources or good ideas or whatever. But that scarcity doesn’t need to be the object of our attention. Fixating on the scarcity in a situation immediately shifts our attention away from creativity and seeing the abundance elsewhere. The scarcity mindset that is focused on disease and poverty in this country, for example, is the reason why we still have no viable solutions to healthcare, food and housing for all citizens. A scarcity mindset breeds competition, and competition leads to gain at the expense of another. But maybe the scarce understanding we have about ourselves and our history, the lack of a complete roadmap, and that void that time has left in its wake are driving forces for our own creativity. All those great works I mentioned way back there in the beginning were rooted in some ancient knowledge, but the paradox is that they also came from a place of novelty, scarcity, or even ignorance. Maybe creativity is the only thing that can beat The Bastards back. A discerning look at the historical narrative and some good philosophy would behoove all us citizens of the planet Earth. I think it would make us all more imaginative and creative, and my hunch is that in creativity lies the salvation of the self, the species, and the planet. This coming year, may you seek your own truth, and choose creativity over competition.
Happy Holidays!
Any reading recommendations?