HOW HISTORY WAS INTRODUCED IN MY YOUTH

And how it inspires me to help pass it on to future generations

I still have the record of my first lessons of history at school when I was nine years old. It is something we would today call a notebook. Most of it was written exactly according to the instructions of our teacher. But some things were not. One could say that they contained my first personal interpretation of history, by way of my illustrations.


Charlemagme at his court in the early 800's (TKA 1961)

These drawings are a reflection too of that time. The man with the firm stride closely resembles a popular comic figure, Captain Haddock of Tintin, whom I was frantically copying in all my drawings and scribbles. Of course, history obtains its meaning very much because we can project ourselves into it. Experience it.


Captain Haddock (Herge)

I have to say that the largest share of my history lessons did not come from school, but from my father, and from many other people, family and friends, teachers, with whom I shared the years of my youth.

At school our teacher picked this notion up by starting her lessons right there, with the experience of family: young people, old people, stories from the past, long ago, a chain – a chain of people and a chain of ‘time, endlessly going back in the past.

The first page of my notebook, the first lessons, dealt with this concept of time, and the timeline you can divide in parts, in dates. All of it was quite clear for me from the onset.


The first page of my history notebook, fourth grade (age 9)

I believe that in order to understand this space of time in the past’ and people long gone, the idea of a finite life, and thus the notion of death, must be clear by that time too, in any child of nine years old. I certainly understood it because I had no difficulty to grasp the implication of old aunts and uncles, even a grandfather, already having ‘died’.

The notebook is not simply a annotation of dates. It contains many references to the way of life of the people, their circumstances, their technologies and livelihood, next to the significant facts of history and the kings, queens, presidents and Popes involved in them.



The professions, the crafts and the arts also were given their proper attention, even in ‘experience’ terms. One example is the letter ‘P’ that I designed for the cover of an imaginary Medieval book, dedicated to a person named Philip.

Why not? It is a good way to experience the dedication of a 10th Century Monk who is working on his masterpiece. That monk would have loved the availability of Photoshop or 3D design, or even mass produced tubes of paint. But in his time they didn’t have any of it.


Viking ship

But I believe it was the key lesson of my father that stirred my passion for history indefinitely. He was always very quick to relate events of our time to examples in the past. And once that happens, you get interested to hear the whole story, and not just the fragments. It comes naturally if you have the basic curiosity of a child.

It has to be fed, this curiosity. It is the curiosity that does not develop just on its own steam. I believe that our current youngest generation is one which shows a good deal of curiosity, and I believe it is critical that we help them answer it in the right way.

For me, the lessons of history have most of all been part of an expedition of my own. I was given ample opportunity to actively absorb it, in our travels, in movies, in books, in family history. It continues to be such expedition to this day. Every day when I travel to certain periods or aspects of history, I largely see facts which I already ‘know’, but I see them in different lights and contexts. And this includes the events of which I had been witness myself, such as the revolution of the sixties.

The active exercise of history is a highly useful effort especially on behalf of our present and future. Not by way of prediction, but by way of projection and interpretation. Every day we absorb these lessons.

My perceptions of Charlemagne and the Vikings, and many other figures of the past have since evolved, of course. Most of all I have many more questions about Charlemagne than ‘knowledge’. And it is unlikely that today I would paint a Viking ship so colorful. But otherwise, the picture is very constant too. The order of history as I grasp it today is founded on these very basic lessons, back almost fifty years ago.

NO MAN ON MARS IN THE COMING DECADE

Our planet is grounded to solve the issues at home first of all

One of the missing topics in President Obama’s inaugural address was Space and America’s future endeavors beyond the confines of our planet. I have no doubt that he considered the subject for the speech, but consciously decided not to include it. For he must have realized that back in the sixties, a period from which he draws many of his inspirations, America’s ambition to put a man on the Moon spawned many different technological – and inspirational - initiatives which multiplied the single benefit of mastering the art of Space travel. Kennedy’s early decision to make this ambition a hallmark of his Presidency, taken at substantial risk, helped build a strong focus across the entire western world on superior achievements in a broad area of technology which otherwise would not have been realized. And in part it shaped our cultural focus. Next to the emergence of pop culture and popular rebellion, “2001 - A Space Odyssey” epitomizes the character of this memorable decade, which sadly had to do without Kennedy to actually see it unroll.

Most certainly we live in a time when great ambitions are needed. In general terms Obama has captured this need in magnificent terms in many different dimensions. One can therefore assume that his decision not to include a renewed or strengthened mission outer space is an immediate function of his understanding of America’s – and the world’s – first priorities. My interpretation of his approach is reinforced when I go through the newly published agenda of Obama’s administration (http://www.whitehouse.gov/). There is no reference of any prominence of a specific plan regarding further US Space programs.

Nonetheless there is one paragraph which refers to the Administration’s stated interest regarding Space:

Ensure Freedom of Space: The Obama-Biden Administration will restore American leadership on space issues, seeking a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites. They will thoroughly assess possible threats to U.S. space assets and the best options, military and diplomatic, for countering them, establishing contingency plans to ensure that U.S. forces can maintain or duplicate access to information from space assets and accelerating programs to harden U.S. satellites against attack.


The priority

This paragraph can be found under the heading of Defense. Space is (or remains) primarily positioned in the domain of the Military, which is where it was established in the fifties and sixties as well. No wonder the paragraph largely reads as a defensive stance: the restoration and safeguarding of freedom in Space.

No reference to this is made in the sphere of economy or technology, where apparently the Space program (apart from the ongoing availability of satellites) offers no special incentive or opportunity, according to those who crafted Obama’s policy principles.

During his Presidential campaign. Obama’s team did have a close look at NASA’s current plans for the future. Some reported that he was specifically interested in these plans. It is an other indication that the absence of ‘Mars’ in his inaugural speech was far from a haphazard omission. Economic gloom, climate change, health care and education all rank higher than any farfetched dream without immediate benefit to America’s taxpayers.

At one time in Nov 2008, one of Obama’s top aides clarified his position:

“Obama believes we should continue developing the next generation of space vehicles, and complete the international space station. While Obama would delay plans to return to moon and push on to Mars, Obama would continue unmanned missions, and use NASA to monitor the forces and effects of climate change, support scientific research, and maintain surveillance to strengthen national security. Obama also believes we need to keep weapons out of space.” (Source: http://www.spacepolitics.com/).

Again the motives seem largely defensive - or protective- rather than offensive or entrepreneurial. Clearly this is not the hallmark enterprise of the forthcoming decade, as new energy and climate control most certainly will be.


The world we live in

Still, if Kennedy’s outreach to the Moon back in 1961 was largely inspired by pressing competition (i.c. from the Soviet Union, who had surpassed the US by getting the first man ever into an orbit around Earth), today’s competition can not be entirely overlooked. The Russians have in the mean time become collaborators, not competitors. No indication exists that Space is anywhere near Moscow’s current issues. But the Chinese have stepped up their development of Space programs and may well become a serious player in this field. Although the chances of China surpassing the US in scale or advancement of their Space efforts are very slim indeed,

Any Space plan that is presented as a mere end in itself (like, most likely, a man on Mars) will be met by Obama’s administration with great reservation. Competition, real progress, measurable economic benefit etc. must be the key considerations if a continued substantial Space effort is to survive in the forthcoming period. We should be surprised if at one point such effort will rise in stature after all, for instance if some ingenious system of solar panels is to be sent into orbit to “harness the energy of the Sun” (one prominent feature of Obama’s inaugural speech).

But perhaps, at best, we will have a good few new men on the Moon by 2020.

Arts and qualities of the left hand

President Obama in his youth

I never realized the enormous chance of left-handed people to become President of the United States, especially in the past fifty years:

Truman, Ford, Reagan, Bush sr., Clinton – and now Obama.
(source: http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/presidents.html)

But of course, you better be born an American, and I am not. I am a left-handed Dutchman.

I share the sense of specialty with all other left-handed people in our world, and I believe much of what people say about it, sometimes a little mythical perhaps, must have been true for all our history.

On the internet I googled the following text:

(There is) ”… this theory, right-handers solve problems using analysis, or the process of breaking the problem into its pieces and examining each piece in turn, hoping to thereby understand the problem;

In this theory, left-handers solve problems using synthesis, or the process of connecting the dots to understand the big picture, hoping to thereby understand the problem.”

Source: http://www.helium.com/items/763455-why-a-left-handed-obama-will-beat-a-right-handed-clinton.“Why a left-handed Obama will beat a right-handed Clinton”. It was about Hillary Clinton, not her husband, the former left-handed President. But the power of synthesis and filling gaps in our understanding of our world, all of this has become more evident as and when we came to see and hear more of the new American President. McCain 's competition in this respect made no difference, for he is left-handed too. (*)



I share a little history of left-handedness among my forebears and (distant) cousins. We all combine this, without exception, with the gift of creativity. Like our left-handed great-grandmother, many of us are avid amateur artists, dreamers and writers.

In the end it is about bridging and crossing the existing rifts between the people of our world. Much synthesis and dots connecting is required.

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(*) And interesting question nonetheless is whether left-handed politicans will be more inclined to the left, on average, or to the right.

INTERNET IS OUR GLOBAL COLLECTIVE SKETCHBOOK OF IDEAS

But it is in need of some codification

We scribble megatons of bytes on the Internet, every day. We post our messages, our blogs, our comments or votes on polls. We share them in smaller and wider circles. Much of it is of little consequence, it is dust passing with the wind, but at times, there is a sparkle, something unique and innovating. And the Internet can help us to pursue it.

At a larger scale, consumer marketing will become a highly democratic process in which all of us share ideas about projects, products, movies – etcetera. Increasingly, producers and consumers are communicating with each other through the internet, even though most of us are not aware of it, or recognize who actually is the producer and who is the consumer.

There are games which trigger their consumer’s creativity, the products of which are subsequently shared with all other online participants of that game. It is obvious that the next generation of games will be a reflection too of the input of the ‘consumers’. Indeed, they are rather more participants of games with global reach.

We have a new American President who, more than any of his predecessors understands the role of internet in achieving unity among all humanity. And perhaps it is inevitable that we do this with ‘fighting games’. So be it. But these games advance too, as for instance a computer game called “Infamous” not yet on the market. But this games promises to put violence on the backseat of a car driven by rationality, and sensitivity. If you use too much violence, you make everybody your enemy. Do you want that?


The worldwideweb: a joy for our souls

Blogging, chatting, Facebook, MySpace, Messenger, all of them have become our regular tools to find our way through the internet, show a little bit of our interests and talents, and share them with any likeminded individual in the world. Many other features of the internet support or accompany this development.

You can voice your opinion on regular polls. You can share your hobbies and further interest. Internet and the world wide web are the bloodline, the arteries and veins almost of our entire social and professional life.

There is however good reason to enhance our sense of values and respect, especially on the Internet, and to avoid such highly unfortunate incident as recently occurred in Thailand. A British national had published a book through the Internet, a novel, which was taken as highly inflammatory against the Thai monarchy. He was arrested and taken in custody, and received a six year sentence. “A Nightmare, this can’t be happening”, is his desperation. Just 10 copies sold of – what likely was – a non-best selling novel.


Imprisoned for insulting the Thai kind in an internet book

I treat everyone respectfully, although I would say that the Thai government response to this case was - and is - highly disproportionate by any reasonable (global) standard.


Shared standards for our chat behavior, aimed at making our exchanges more sensible and fruitful

Perhaps, given the importance of truthfulness and ‘effective communication’ on the Internet, for those who take it seriously, something like a ‘Global Code of Conduct for the Internet’ would not be such s bad idea, even though there will continue to be the inevitable abuse etc.

But otherwise, indeed, if I may speak for myself, I publish all my sketches, my notes and thoughts. and little drawings, if I like. For me, the Internet is my little place in the Milky Way.

A PRESIDENT OF PROMISE

It is almost incredible to realize, but the fact remains that the United States supported and pursued a hard-fought victory over German oppression and racial hatred as it emerged in the NAZI period, whilst at the same time accepting rigid racist practices and policies in their own large backyard as a solid fixture of American society. It continued to sustain such practices well into the sixties, even as it became apparent, through international treaties and emerging common standards in our world regarding discrimination of any kind, that America stood quite alone in this throughout the western world. In 1954, some years before Martin Luther King effectively entered the stage, the US Supreme Court took a landslide decision regarding racist (segregationist) regulations regarding schooling. This decision marked a period in which many such decisions were taken in the battle of the Supreme Court against statutory schemes and state court decisions that served as "an endorsement of the doctrine of White Supremacy” (Source: Legal History Blog – http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/). Yet it took many years more for the US to really come to grips with the concept of equal civil (and human) rights for all, regardless color.



By the same token no one at the time, not even in the sixties, would have predicted the advent of a ‘black’ American president in the early 21st Century. And most certainly no one could have predicted the strong association which this upcoming President has already generated among many, both inside and outside the US, with hope, change and a truly better world.

I have been watching a historic video clip tonight, dating from 1966 when Martin Luther King marched his followers through Chicago. The words he speaks are a prime source of history and to some degree they can still serve a a guiding light for the future. In that march, Dr King was stoned by an angry crowd of ‘whites’. “I’ve been hit so many times, I am immune to it,” Dr King dryly responds. Earlier on, in a speech, he conceded to his tiredness of marching, all that endless marching. It sounded like a desperation. Why does it take the American society so long to come to the realization that all men are equal, wherever they come from.

Civil rights demonstratrion, US, in the sixties

Today we continue to struggle with substantive echo’s of pure racism. We have denounced it, but the sentiments across the racial, ethnic and cultural dividing lines have not disappeared. The new American President no doubt will be a major contribution on the further path of equal recognition, but how far will this be?


Dr Martin Luther King

In King’s last speech he spoke of ‘having been on the mountain top’. “I’ve seen the promised land.” It was a daring promise, an expression of personal courage and an admonition to all to act in similar courage. Next to his eternally beautiful 'I have a dream' speech, his ‘Mountaintop speech’ can stand out as one of exceptional force and truthfulness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8&feature=related).

“I may not get there with you,” he said. And we know he was so right. But perhaps the next few years will indeed see the American people but also the rest of the world make a few next steps towards that promise. We all need greater understanding, in each of our countries, and greater tolerance, if we want this planet to be a happy place in the eternity of the universe surrounding us.