Trashing The Past

The past just kind of sits there minding its own business. It really can’t do anything. Neither, of course, can the future. Only the present contains action.

When one turns his attention to trashing the past or the inhabitants thereof, the main question that comes to mind is why. What does one hope to gain by launching a full-on assault on something that doesn’t actually exist?

Some possibilities:

• The avoidance of comparison to morally and intellectually superior predecessors
• The masking of intellectual laziness
• A respite from an under-developed self
• The attention of the similarly challenged

Trashing the past is, above all things, an act of misdirection. One who casts blame denies responsibility. One who attacks the past accepts no responsibility for today’s solutions. One who lies about yesterday cannot be trusted today.

The honest study of history is a fine pursuit and one that can add satisfyingly nuanced layers to life. But is there a more dishonest pursuit than to look at what has come before as simply a means of justification, as an excuse for godless behavior, or as a mere cry for undeserved attention?