If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?
If I could meet people throughout history I would like to meet the first President of the United States over the 13 colonies, John Hanson. I would fill him in on the fact that in the future of this great nation he would virtually be unknown by everybody but a few scholars and others looking for the truth. I imagine he would have a response that would be worth the visit all on its own. He may say that a modest man need not be remembered after his death but needs only to live a virtuous life.
After several stories of great men who came before him, including his kin who may not have been the first at anything, he might try to convince me that he doesn’t care about his legacy, but I know better. One does not become the last man standing during a revolution to not revolt against being forgotten after the rise of every generation since then snubs into obscurity his accomplishments.
A president blacklisted for being a slave owner and resurrected for the same reason because the truth in history education is almost as slow as evolution itself but will still evolve. Technology will speed up the learning of human history, educating us when we are fascinated about the feats of our ancestors but also reminding us of deplorable acts to never repeat. Unknown characters from history will become teachers tomorrow because artificial intelligence will decide who to promote, who to learn from in their mistakes and madness, making them a household name through social media and online learning in seconds versus centuries.
Centuries from now our curious species will want to know more about the slow, savage apes of the past that preferred entertainment over education which is precisely how education will be presented in the future but more rapidly.
Yesterday I learned who the first president of the United States was through scrolling. Today I educated myself about that period and person in history by scrolling and writing. Tomorrow I’ll contribute to making John Hanson a household name by scrolling, writing, and posting it on social media.
I will never meet John Hanson but he will be introduced to the world when it becomes mandatory to know the truth no matter how regressive it was/is/will be. The truth is not a celebration of the past but the truth exposes how far we have come in understanding the challenge between what was deemed okay then against what is wrong now and changing society according to the expectations of people in the future, how they will remember us.
Francis Erich McElroy 