Replying to LO29714 --
Dear Organlearners,
I wish that this year will be rich in learning emergences for all of you.
Andrew Canpbell < ACampnona@aol.com > asks upon quoting Leyton
>"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory
>against forgetting."
>
>Where is history?
Dear Andrew,
What a strange and yet compelling question!
The past few weeks, having written little on the LO-list, i have indulged
myself in reading history on several different topics. I often thought
that were it not for these information sources, i would not have acquired
new knowledge on history. I think that last year i went somewhat over
board when comparing "knowledge which dwells with in a person" with
"information which exists outside a person". Yet i cannot make excuses for
the present infatuation with information and neglegence of knowledge. It
causes to much disruption of the wholeness of people's spirituality.
But your strange question "Where is history?" makes me think once again.
Is history in the books, or is it in the minds which have studied such
books, or is it in both? While reading one book or article after another,
i often became vividly aware that my mind makes history alive. So perhaps
i should propose that "dead history" is in the books while "living
history" is in the minds!
In terms of the quote you have given, this makes sense. I have never heard
or observed how a single information source on histrory struggles against
the misuse of power! It is the mind in which history lives where the
misuse of power is perceived and reacted upon. How much of this would be
possible if information sources on history were not available?
It makes me think of a very large semi-government corporation which was
begun in the twenties of the previous century to provide jobs for South
Africans. It became extraordinary successful in this mission. But then in
the late eighties it became privatised. To maintain profits for its
shareholders, the majority of jobs were cut and factories were closed. I
tried to get information on its history on its internet site!
Guess what? Not a single word on its history -- just a lot of information
on its present activities and how profitable they are. I had to visit
old-timers who worked for this corporation to get the information which i
wanted. Thanks to their memories its history came alive to me.
With care and best wishes,
--At de Lange <amdelange@postino.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
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