LATELY, I’ve gotten into watching TED-Ed videos on YouTube. I’ve been fascinated with the various topics they cover which including biology, technology, psychology, and history.
One of their subcategories is the “History on Trial” playlist. It is where an infamous historical figure is figuratively put on trial in a courthouse with the prosecutors and the defendants sharing their respective sides.
Some of the interesting historical figures that were put on the stand were Cleopatra, Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan, Che Guevara, Christopher Columbus, Henry VIII, and even Joseph Stalin.
When you hear some of these names, you imagine bloodthirsty villains who spread suffering everywhere they went. However, it was interesting hearing the “defendants’” side. They pointed out instances where these figures acted in the best interest of their cause. How they saved the people under them from a worse evil.
On the other hand, some people who have been lauded as heroes built their achievements on the backs of less fortunate people, and who acted purely out of greed and pride.
If you watch “History on Trial” planning to draw conclusions about those historical figures, then you’re gonna be disappointed. At times, I finished the videos with more questions than I initially had.
It made me realize something about these people and history in general. When we hear about the feats of our “heroes” we get images of Luke Skywalker going up against Darth Vader. A battle of good versus evil, right versus wrong. Well, now I realized that everything isn’t so black and white. History is full of gray areas.
You have people who were thought to be “evil” by their opposers when in fact, these people were doing what they thought was the right decision at the time. Sometimes, intentionally or not, the results were negative.
You also have people who were believed to be courageous and virtuous, but only because of the biased record-keeping of the people who were under them.
There is no pure good and evil among the common man. We act on our virtues and beliefs and make decisions based on those. Sometimes, the decisions we make negatively affect others, and on a large scale, we may not even notice the damage.
Until now, we are making complex history. We are more aware, knowledgeable and considerate – or “woke” for the lack of a better term – so we can foresee the effects of our actions.
We have a lot of history to learn from too. So, rather than make our history gray, maybe it could be a kaleidoscope of colors? A merging of all our newfound beliefs and old values. New feats to achieve without following the mistakes of the past.
Wouldn’t that be one for the books?/PN
