As time
moves on, everything we take for granted changes. Traditions rooted in purpose
and significance have their origins lost, yet continue to exist because it’s
tradition. Festivals and celebrations evolve or get co-opted, becoming entirely
new events with little or no relevance to their original purpose. The meanings
of words and the structures of languages change, leading to disagreements about
recorded information from earlier ages. Sometimes records are destroyed, out of
embarrassment or malice, erasing whole sections of history. When events of the
past century have been clouded, muddled, and denied, what can we be certain of
from even earlier times?
It doesn’t
take long for things to change. How many memes are there about kids not
understanding common objects from twenty years ago? We fail to pass on
knowledge and history because we take it for granted that it’s common
knowledge, and it fades into obscurity. And let’s not forget that history is
written by the winners, or that history is nothing but words – and, with enough
influence, words can be changed.
It’s
important to remember the important things. It’s important to pass them on. And
it’s important to stay aware of how meanings change over time, and move to
correct it if we see it happening. Otherwise, it’s out with the old, in with
the new.
Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
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