Creatures of Our Time

We are all flawed and creatures of our time. Is it fair to judge us by the unknown standards of the future? Some of the habits of our age will doubtless be considered barbaric by later generations. -- Carl Sagan, The Demon Haunted World, 1996.

I had read this quotation, liked it, made a note of it, and then somehow lost track of it, only to have it pop up in the new Christopher Hilton book, Le Mans '55.

It seems to sum up very nicely the problem of dealing with history, nostalgia, context, empathy, and what have you....

... or, to put it another way:

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. LP Hartley - the Go-Between

Not much to do with motor racing, but IMHO Sagan's 'The Demon Haunted World' ought to be mandatory reading for every person on Earth - if humans as a rule began to think rationally, at least owe up to it when they realized they didn't (like being in love with old racing cars) and act on evidence, not on blind faith and superstition, then the World would see far, far less scams, opression, bigotry, hatred and conflict.

[/RANT OVER]

Carry on, gentlemen...

Hi to everyones.
I dont remember who wrote it.
But it is in my mind from the day I've read it.
And have a lot to do with "nostalgia racing" concept.

" We look at the past, because we dont like the present "

MonzaDriver.

Often thought this lyric from TheThe sums it up nicely:

Crossin' the central reservation
Of my imagination
Searchin' for the world I left behind
A shadow hunting shadows
Of childhood life
It's all I want and all I miss
But how can I return to a place that don't exist?

Oh golly, BTC's proposition resonated with me. I hope this is not too off topic .. and bear with me, I shall try to keep this brief.

A few years ago, a terrific fuss blew up in certain Australian newspapers and trashy current affairs (sic) TV programs about a mission a certain RAAF squadron was sent on the day after the Battle of the Bismark Sea (between the New Guinea mainland and New Britain). The essence of the "revelations" was that those Australian airmen were brutal and inhuman because they shot up a large number of relatively defenceless Japanese troops in barges who were part of an invasion force heading for the eastern coast of New Guinea below Lae.

My father-in-law was a pilot in that squadron (although he was not on that mission) and I have talked to him at some length about it. And of course, the reality, the delicate balance of things at the time was way, way beyond the understanding of those keen young, mollycoddled newspaper and TV employees who sought to whip up the mission into a war atrocity.

My father-in-law, and all of his squadron mates, were very upset by the mission itself and very hurt by the (thankfully) brief media party 55 years later. But they understood the context in which the attack took place. I do and I'm sure most at TNF would, too.

As billthecat's sig says: "Context Counts". I hope I never forget that - in anything I write or say.



PS. I hope the reference to the action following the Battle of the Bismark Sea was not too cryptic; I was attempting to keep things brief. But if anyone wishes to know more, I shall be happy to PM them. Whatever ... it is all on the public record.

My dad was a Hump pilot flying fuel and ammo to the flying tigers and flying back dead american bodies back to India he got a letter from president Harry Truman for what he did.