One last time

I realize for most of you the subject of history is the ultimate soporific. Your eyes immediately glaze over and your head drops to your chest, learned aversions from droning history teachers in high school that presented a list of dates and events on the overhead projector and chalk board. History is taught without passion. Most people, including my kids, look at the subject of the past and offer a ho hum and a why?

I love history. I have spent most of my life studying various aspects and historical periods. I have delved into the Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, WWII, the Zulus, The Sioux uprising of 1890, Lewis and Clark, the Revolutionary War, and WWI in recent decades. It is a hobby. I make no claims to genius, no special insight.

I do believe I possess enough layman's knowledge to carry on a discuss of history and the effect of the past on modern man. I welcome a discussion, I like to learn from others. Informing me I am ignorant, a fascist, that I have my head up my ass because I think the Romans offered more to history than the Kingdom of Mali, well I am at a loss for words. Reasonable people would present their argument, I mine and we would agree to disagree. Some people, small and insecure, find it necessary to carry the discussion further. If I do not acknowledge their point of view as THE version, I become the monster, the idiot.

I see a similar dialogue in politics today. Those who believe in Global Warming refuse to have a dialogue, we must all radically change our lives NOW -- No compromise, no discussion. We must bow down on the church of Gaea. For those of us who might support the war on terror we are fascist baby killers and evil. Should we have a dialogue on the progress of the war and how it is being fought? -- absolutely. It is impossible when you begin with equating me with Hitler. In schoolyard discussions these were the ones who always reply to facts with "well, you are fat" before they ran away crying to Mommy. They are unable to carry the discussion on fact so they resort to insults and name calling. They are unable to recognize opinion is just that -- opinion. Like assholes, everyone's opinion stinks (except mine).

Mark is one of these people. I bet I can describe him very well. He is probably from the East Coast, a few years out of college. He is working in his first job, making decent money, but he thinks his boss is stupid. He has perhaps travelled to Central America or Mexico to either vacation or maybe he spent a week helping those less fortunate through college or church. He sees I am from Indiana and is certain I am a hick, stupid and uneducated. I must be dumb because I speak with a different accent and talk slow. He can not accept he might be wrong, another might have knowledge. Hey Mark, I saw the History Channel show about the Mongols too.

Mark sees the people of the world and feels bad that the Great Zimbabwe is not mentioned in the same breath as the Great Pyramid of Cheops. It is not fair. He thinks maybe reparations for African Americans might be a good idea. He thinks Bill Gates makes too much money, and we should dictate higher pay for those who work at McDonald's. He believes Wal-Mart is evil and exploits its associates because it will not provide insurance to its workers. He wants Christmas removed from schools, but sees no problem with Muslims demanding foot baths in the Taxi restrooms at the Kansas City Airport (at government expense). Mark can see no reason any citizen should own a gun. He thinks we should be forced to buy smaller cars, and wishes the price of gas was higher, so we would take public transportation. He is convinced Bush is the Anti-Christ and Haliburton the root of all evil. I bet he secretly believes that either/or we deserved the attacks on 9/11, or that the Government blew up the towers. He wants to ban pesticides and says we should buy organic vegetables, but he will not pay the price when he shops. I bet he is awesome at video games. I bet Mark thinks Augusta National should be forced to accept women members, but has no problem with his boys night out every Wednesday (where he wows his friends at NTN Trivia).

Mark looks at the US and believes it is wrong to have so much wealth, so much freedom, so much goodness. We must have stolen it. It must have been gained at the expense of the Bedouins, the Ugandans, the Ashanti, the name your group here.

Mark thinks he is an intellectual, he is pleased at the attention, never knowing he is but a troll, an insignificant speck getting his jollies putting a hick in his place. He will never see how so many of us are laughing at him, at his pathetic cries for attention. He demands we listen to him, yet no person of historical aptitude or knowledge would agree the "Songhai [was a]...pretty big, important empire", a rival in historical importance to Rome, the Alexandrian Empire or even the US today.

What is really sad is this poor lonely little boy has succeeded in stamping his foot, holding his breath and demanding we all look at him. Like a parent that repeatedly spoils his brat, he got two posts and a long comment from me. Now I wish he would just go away, I am bored with his pseudo-intellectualism and holier than thou attitude. On second thought. I guess I am stupid. I just wasted another ten minutes on this pathetic piece of shit.