I didn’t take full advantage of my schooling. I was a thinker, but didn’t see the big picture. My writing was above grade-level, but I couldn’t interpret. I regurgitated historical knowledge, but had to get knocked up by Civilization before I started connecting the dots. I was too impatient and change happens slowly.
The current world map is not among the last iterations. We are not at history’s endgame. Everything changes. We know that. It’s that thing we say without fully grasping it. So, how can I communicate this? Animated maps, of course.
I wish we had YouTube back when I was in school
First, we start with civilization’s early years. Here’s 2000 Years of History (1000 BC – 1000 AD).
Now we’ve learned that powers grow and consolidate. They also break apart. Let’s zoom over to Europe. We’ll watch 10 centuries pass in 5 minutes.
Now, zoom over to America. This nation’s geographic – as well as cultural – change is depicted beautifully when we look at a the History of Presidential Elections, a demonstration of the nation’s growth and political evolution.
Sum Total
We are the descendants of barbaric, brilliant civilizations playing a great game. We exist at a particular place in history’s timeline. We stand at a particular place upon the Earth. We’re living in a particular moment of our culture’s evolution. It is narcissistic to imagine that we live in special times, but that does happen now and then.
Regardless, we’re residents of a spinning rock orbiting a common star. In a very large galaxy within a seemingly infinite universe. When I zoom out that far, all the maps, politics, and history seem a silly thing. But, what’cha gonna do?
I wish I could have appreciated this in youth. We are prisoners of time and geography. We’re doing our best, but we just haven’t got the hang of this existence thing.
