And Your Eyes Glaze Over: Why I Write About History.

The 3 regular readers of my blog know I post a lot about the Constitution and legal statutes, American and world history, the evolution of scientific understanding and other geeky stuff that bores a lot of people.  I eat that shit up, and have ever since I can remember.  

My late mother called me "the family historian" because I was the one who always paid attention to the Old Timers' stories, so I knew where we'd come from and became sort of the repository for family lore.  I collected coins (past tense because I still have my collection, much of which came from my paternal grandfather, but I no longer actively engage in numismatic-related program activities).  I made NToddsPa take me to historic sites in Philly and Boston, even though he hates urban driving.  

I obviously haven't grown out of it.  In between anti-war actions in DC, I visited the Holocaust Museum, the National Archives, the Smithsonian, etc.  I dragged my pregnant partner up Little Round Top and love researching local boys who served in the Civil War.  I pore over the Annals of Congress for my "daddy time".

Usually when I write about this stuff, people don't comment and I'm sure skip over the excruciating detail I sometimes get into.  On more than one occasion somebody has told me how their eyes roll back into their head, or they glaze over, or something.  That's cool.  I write because I like it, and am thrilled in the rare instances when somebody wants to discuss something.

There's more to it than that, though.  Philosophically, I think knowing history is important for understanding our present and anticipating our future.  And at the very least, you need to appreciate it as you try to interpret anachronistic law that remains with us as we deal with modern policy issues.

What usually gets a bug up my ass is when people try to appropriate history to claim a monopoly on it.  Fundamentally I don't really give a shit what James Madison thought, but I can't abide his being used as a cudgel by people.  So I fight fire with fire because it usually shows how specious their claims are and how shallow their understanding is.

And I just like it.

So it should come as no surprise to people who know me that I might spend a lot of time reading source documents and arguing to the last about something trivial like Vermont's pre-statehood status as a republic.  It's not just about trying to prove I'm right--obviously that's a part of it since I have an oversized ego and hate to be wrong--but I'm like a moth to the flame if I see a burning controversy or even a lukewarm difference in perspective.  And I always learn something new.

F'rinstance, I didn't realize just how prominent one of Fletcher's original grantees was (though I shoulda done the math because, you know, who gets free land from the Governor?).  Jonas Fay pretty much wrote Vermont's declaration of independence, was a member of the Green Mountain Boys, and was on the State Supreme Court.  Now I want to look more into his life.

And I found a cool map.  I also like maps.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming.  Eyes glazing over in 3, 2, 1...

ntodd