Book Discussion - Honored Dead

samgrant

Captain
Retired Moderator
Joined
Jul 9, 2005
Location
Galena, Illinois 61036 U.S.A.
Just to let you know:

We will start at approx. 8 pm (central time) and go till 10 pm (more or less depending on interest) on Wednesday , March 1. A 'chat' room which will be called "Honored Dead".

I will also open a regular thread in the 'Book' topic area for those who can't contribute in chat, and/or for anyone interested to add commentary to the online discussion. Also it will be titled "Honored Dead".

OK?
__________________
 
Sam, please drop me a PM on the 1st; I'll try to participate as work allows. I'm looking forward to seeing what others think of thise book.
Good Luck
 
Unfortunately, the turnout was spare for our experimnet in book discussion.

Here's the transcript, if you can bear it:

at] at 7:15 pm
[Campfire Chat]: Johan Steele has entered at 7:31 pm
[Campfire Chat]: milhistbuff1 has entered at 7:33 pm
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 7:56 pm: you miss my signal sam?
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 7:58 pm: signal?
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 8:00 pm: why are you sending me a Pm?
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 8:00 pm: Johan Steele] 8:54 pm: me: ironically the men who villinzed them were there comrades; not their opponents. [milhistbuff1] 8:54 pm: me [moderator] 8:54 pm: so true
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 8:01 pm: are you just experimenting, or what?
[Campfire Chat]: Johan Steele has left at 8:01 pm
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 8:02 pm: no i was waiting for your "go" response before i started in so i didnt interrupt the flow of chat
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 8:05 pm: but you didn't say me, did you
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 8:06 pm: i did at 854 my time
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 8:07 pm: you did, I missed it.
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 8:07 pm: try again
[Campfire Chat]: william42 has entered at 8:13 pm
[Campfire Chat]: Johan Steele has entered at 8:14 pm
Welcome! You have entered [Honored Dead] at 8:15 pm
[Honored Dead]: Johan Steele has entered at 8:15 pm
[Johan Steele] 8:15 pm: OK Sam; back for a while...
[Honored Dead]: william42 has left at 8:16 pm
[moderator] 8:16 pm: Welcome to this experiment.
[Honored Dead]: milhistbuff1 has left at 8:16 pm
[Honored Dead]: milhistbuff1 has entered at 8:16 pm
[moderator] 8:16 pm: here's the protocol:
[moderator] 8:16 pm: Please use the following chat protocol:

"me" - to 'raise one's hand' or request to 'speak' - to reply to or ask a
question

"go" (membername) - moderator gives the 'go ahead' for member to 'speak'

"xxxx" - signals that moderator is 'breaking in' to change the subject or
whatever (will seldom be needed?)
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 8:17 pm: Sam we can still PM those in other rooms
[Honored Dead]: william42 has entered at 8:18 pm
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 8:18 pm: don't know, never tought about that. Who is tHAT IN cAMPFIRE?
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 8:18 pm: was William42
[moderator->milhistbuff1] 8:18 pm: must have been william
[william42] 8:18 pm: me
[moderator] 8:19 pm: OK. lets sit for a bit, then just start
[moderator] 8:19 pm: go william
[william42] 8:20 pm: Okay, I was just gonna say that it took me a second to figure out how to get to this room. Matt helped me out there.
[moderator] 8:20 pm: go william42?
[william42] 8:20 pm: me
[moderator] 8:21 pm: Just one problem to be resolved next time
[moderator] 8:21 pm: go will
[moderator] 8:21 pm: It might be a good Idea, if you are waiting to be recognized, to enter you comment/question in the box and have it ready to send, but don't send or press enter, till it's your turn.
[william42] 8:21 pm: That's fine. Is Matt Milihistbuff or did I get that wrong.
[milhistbuff1] 8:22 pm: yes thats me
[william42] 8:22 pm: me
[moderator] 8:22 pm: the same I think, but I'm bad at names and to keepit simple why don't we use variations on screen names
[william42] 8:23 pm: That'll work
[milhistbuff1] 8:24 pm: sounds good
[moderator] 8:24 pm: XXXX
[moderator] 8:25 pm: ok, not as many folks as I expected, but maybe they got confused about time, etc.
[william42] 8:25 pm: me
[Johan Steele] 8:25 pm: Still a might early...
[william42] 8:26 pm: me?
[moderator] 8:26 pm: So lets just start with the intro, not much to it as fr as i can se, just a where i'm coming from kind of thing and wher we are going.
[moderator] 8:26 pm: go william
[william42] 8:26 pm: The chat clock seems to be a bit ahead of my computer clock.
[moderator] 8:27 pm: Yes will your red it not easy to read, but go on
[william42] 8:28 pm: Yeah I know, I'm trying to find a good color. Bear with me.
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 8:28 pm: hilight the comment, it will turn white
[Johan Steele] 8:28 pm: guys just as a note Red and blue are almost impossible to read w/ this background
[milhistbuff1->moderator] 8:28 pm: left click and drag
[moderator] 8:28 pm: XX
[moderator] 8:29 pm: Anyone got a comment on the intor chapter?
[moderator] 8:29 pm: intro that is
[milhistbuff1] 8:29 pm: I found Montgomry's perception interesting
[milhistbuff1] 8:29 pm: oops
[milhistbuff1] 8:29 pm: me:
[moderator] 8:29 pm: go buff
[moderator] 8:30 pm: go mbuff?
[moderator] 8:30 pm: XXX
[milhistbuff1] 8:31 pm: its no surprise considering his lack of tact during WWII but, i find it hard to believe he would do so just to spite his former CO
[moderator] 8:32 pm: actually Monty is in chapter 1, can we safely dispose of the intro as being relatively valueless, except for the author's introduction to himself and his theme?
[william42] 8:32 pm: Sure
[moderator] 8:33 pm: xxxx
[milhistbuff1] 8:33 pm: no argument here
[Johan Steele] 8:33 pm: I don't know it was interesting to see Monty's perspective... proof he was a blowhard
[moderator] 8:33 pm: Shall we move to chapter 1?
[william42] 8:33 pm: XXXX ...does that mean temporarily stop?
[moderator] 8:34 pm: sort of
[william42] 8:34 pm: You still want us to type "me" before posting?
[moderator] 8:34 pm: it means the moderator wants to get a point in
[moderator] 8:35 pm: it would help, but if we don't have more than 4, it may not be necessary
[Johan Steele] 8:35 pm: I liked the Carter quote... "We ought to tell the Georgians that we finally won in Gettysburg."
[moderator] 8:35 pm: Chap 1. many gettysburgs? - different things to differnet people?
[Johan Steele] 8:36 pm: I was impressed how many foreign leaders knew the history of Gettysburg.
[william42] 8:36 pm: I found it amazing how the history has changed over the years by authors building on info that wasn't all that correct to begin with.

continued, next post..........
 
continuation of book chat:


[moderator] 8:37 pm: Ok, shane, nice observations, want to do a 'me'?
[Johan Steele] 8:37 pm: sorry... me
[william42] 8:38 pm: me
[Johan Steele] 8:38 pm: The comparison to the percentage of troops to population when compared to Normandy...
[moderator] 8:38 pm: OK> nevermind, as long as it'd just 4 of us (what went wrong?), we might dispense with the "me"s
[milhistbuff1] 8:39 pm: William, well, that depends
on who you read, and what the sources
are, the closer people are to an event, the
more extremely held are the convictions
based on their own knowledge
[Johan Steele] 8:39 pm: The comments about the war continuing for another 2 years were quite apt...
[william42] 8:39 pm: John Bachelder went from a landscape painter to the supreme historian of Gettysburg, just because he was so persistent, and folks seemed to let him go with it.
[moderator] 8:39 pm: I also never thought of that many other countries' armies studied the battles of the CW
[Johan Steele] 8:40 pm: As a critical strategic factor of the War Gettysburg pales next to Vicksburg
[moderator] 8:40 pm: will, we are on chap 1, bach apears in chap 5
[william42] 8:41 pm: I think Gettysburg is probably close to the “mother of all battles” worldwide.
[milhistbuff1] 8:41 pm: Frankly I'm not surprised, i'm sure the imperial powers passed on the knowledge gleaned from the CW digests we sent to every military academy in europe, surely some of the colonials attended at various points
[william42] 8:41 pm: Sorry, I'll go get my book.
[milhistbuff1] 8:42 pm: and later translated the info into their native language, be it, bantu, Arabic, etc
[moderator] 8:42 pm: was certainly a model for warfare since the Crimean
[Johan Steele] 8:42 pm: Mothre of all battles... no; it doesn't even compare in numbers engaged... that's one thing I've never understood.
[moderator] 8:42 pm: xxx
[Johan Steele] 8:42 pm: Montegra was as large though IIRC not as bloody
[william42] 8:43 pm: Ok, I stand corrected.
[Johan Steele] 8:43 pm: me...
[moderator] 8:43 pm: so to each of you, what, befre this book did Gettysburg mean to you, and has your impreesions changed ?
[Johan Steele] 8:44 pm: ok one thing of interest about chapter 1 to me was that it started as a foundation that the author built upon throughout the rest of the work.
[Johan Steele] 8:45 pm: I didn't realize just how much history had been distrorted both intentionally and unintentionally
[moderator] 8:45 pm: XXX, but when you hear the word, Gettysburg, what first comes to mind?
[Johan Steele] 8:46 pm: THe Iron Brigade double quicking through those woods to pitch into the CS
[william42] 8:46 pm: The book has changed the way I think of the history of the battle. It didn’t occur to me really that nothing was really documented at all except for some soldiers’ diaries, and that there was never one recognizable “History of the battle of Gettysburg”.
[moderator] 8:46 pm: go whoever
[william42] 8:47 pm: I mean one “Factual, Indisputable History of the Battle of Gettysburg”
[Johan Steele] 8:48 pm: A battle is a lot like a car wreck. A lot od different perspective that often contradict each other
[moderator] 8:48 pm: "History is created to make sense out of the past"
[moderator] 8:49 pm: Chap 2: "History is created to make sense out of the past"
[Johan Steele] 8:49 pm: As an example I've read three seperate accounts of Iuka that are dramaticly different... & Gettysburg makes Iuja look like a bar fight
[Johan Steele] 8:49 pm: sorry Iuka
[milhistbuff1] 8:49 pm: make sense or cover up?, we cannot forget that history is written by the victors, in this case, meaning those most influential and longest living
[moderator] 8:50 pm: so what is the distinction between truthfulness and limited perspective?
[william42] 8:51 pm: To the particpants probably none.
[Johan Steele] 8:51 pm: in particular those longest living... or who wrote first the most
[Honored Dead]: 30th_il has entered at 8:51 pm
[30th_il] 8:51 pm: Hello...
[milhistbuff1] 8:51 pm: I disagree, there were some who served at the highest levels and knew what lee did, Walter H Taylor for instance
[moderator] 8:51 pm: how do exaggeration, politics, selective sources, time and memory influence our perception of the history
[Johan Steele] 8:52 pm: too much.
[milhistbuff1] 8:52 pm: it eliminates those sources that don't agree with the authors point of view
[william42] 8:52 pm: Hey Matt.
[30th_il] 8:52 pm: What is the topic?
[moderator] 8:53 pm: Hi 30th, we are using screen names to simplifie. we are on Chap 2
[Johan Steele] 8:53 pm: What this book did for me was to highlight and explain how history gets written; how it is distorted both intenionally and unintentionally
[moderator] 8:54 pm: hundreds of different variations of the same event
[william42] 8:54 pm: Thought I was gonna have to leave to get my puppy out but I see he already whizzed on the carpet.
[milhistbuff1] 8:54 pm: that may be, but only by seeing the entire historical record can you know what happened
[moderator] 8:55 pm: ha!
[moderator] 8:55 pm: what about Norton's account of vincent Strong?
[Johan Steele] 8:55 pm: details that are monumental to one man or group of men may be insignificant to another from their perspective
[30th_il] 8:55 pm: Hmmmm, I am afraid i haven't read the book so I will be mosey-ing along....
[milhistbuff1] 8:56 pm: so no one bias gets too strong
[Honored Dead]: 30th_il has left at 8:56 pm
[william42] 8:56 pm: Timeout for a second plz. Can anybody tell me how to use the PM feature here?
[moderator] 8:57 pm: Norton gave info about where Strong was or wasn't, others gave different accounts.
[Johan Steele] 8:57 pm: sorry; don't know here
[Honored Dead]: Johan Steele has left at 8:57 pm
[moderator] 8:57 pm: PM - click on the member and message them
[william42] 8:58 pm: Thanks
[moderator->william42] 8:58 pm: like this
[Honored Dead]: Johan Steele has entered at 8:58 pm
[milhistbuff1] 8:58 pm: Vincent was hit early on though, so apart from initial dispositions is he really relevant to the fight on LRT?
[Johan Steele] 8:59 pm: Gents; i must leave you. God Bless and enjoy the discussion
[william42] 9:00 pm: It seems Norton thought he was extremely relevant, by the effort he put in to get his commander recognized.
[moderator] 9:00 pm: OK, any comment about Warren's story that there was nobody on LRT, tho others disagreed, and Warren got a big statue?
[william42] 9:00 pm: See ya Shane
[milhistbuff1] 9:01 pm: Take care Shane
[william42] 9:02 pm: Wasn't it the Pennsylvanians who put that up?
[Honored Dead]: Johan Steele has left at 9:02 pm
[milhistbuff1] 9:02 pm: Warren was the one to get reinforcements dispatched on his own authority, so without it LRT, crucial or not could have easily been lost if Weed and O Rorke werent up top above vincents bde
[moderator] 9:03 pm: OK, the chapter close with the assertion that "the more dramatic version of a story, the one we WANT to believe, becomes the accepted version."
[moderator] 9:03 pm: What do you think of that?
[william42] 9:03 pm: Considering human nature, I think that's pretty dead on.
[william42] 9:05 pm: I think this chat forum will attract more members as it goes along. I wouldn't go by the first nights turnout.
[moderator] 9:05 pm: OK, on to chapter 3; aggenda and 'spin'?
[Honored Dead]: ole has entered at 9:05 pm
[william42] 9:06 pm: Hey Ole.
[moderator] 9:06 pm: will, well we are going to run out of cahapters before they come in, they all knew the start date and time.
[moderator] 9:06 pm: go ole
[ole] 9:06 pm: me
[moderator] 9:07 pm: you, you're late
[ole] 9:07 pm: Told you about start date and time. Trash night and "Lost."
[moderator] 9:08 pm: you prefer 'Lost' to this outstanding discussion?
[ole] 9:08 pm: Time with dear one.
[moderator] 9:09 pm: Chap 3 : some common myths, wesley culp, Gordon and Barlow, handcock and Hunt, Who shot Reynolds?, Shoes.
[moderator] 9:10 pm: Anyone want to address any of these?
[william42] 9:10 pm: Did anybody have any idea that the history of the battle was so malleable?
[ole] 9:11 pm: Me
[milhistbuff1] 9:11 pm: yes but not as to the extent
[moderator] 9:11 pm: go ole
[ole] 9:12 pm: Refresh my memory. What was the Hancock and Hunt one?
[moderator] 9:13 pm: Hancock told Hunt to keep firing, Hunt wanted to conserve ammo fo the close battle, etc.
[Honored Dead]: milhistbuff1 has left at 9:13 pm
[ole] 9:13 pm: Ah, yes.
[Honored Dead]: milhistbuff1 has entered at 9:13 pm
[milhistbuff1] 9:14 pm: gotta run, early day tomorrow, will definitely be back
[william42] 9:14 pm: See ya Matt.
[ole] 9:14 pm: Me.
[moderator] 9:15 pm: go ole
[Honored Dead]: william42 has left at 9:15 pm
[Honored Dead]: milhistbuff1 has left at 9:15 pm
[Honored Dead]: william42 has entered at 9:16 pm
[william42] 9:16 pm: I just got kicked out.
[moderator] 9:16 pm: go ole
[ole] 9:16 pm: I was a bit disappointed that Desjardin didn't dive into some serious myths about the battle. Who shot Reynolds doesn't qualify as a myth -- more a mystery.
[moderator] 9:17 pm: Well, what did you have in mind?
[moderator] 9:18 pm: go ole
[ole] 9:18 pm: The Sickles/Meade controversy, for one. Although that isn't a myth either, but there are a lot of myths floating around about it.
[moderator] 9:19 pm: That's the next chapter, keep tuned.
[moderator] 9:19 pm: xxx
[ole] 9:19 pm: Which chapter are we on.
[william42] 9:19 pm: I think chapter 3, not sure.
[moderator] 9:19 pm: No comment on the fantastic Barlow, Gordon story?
[moderator] 9:20 pm: Wesley Culp?
[moderator] 9:20 pm: Shoes?
[moderator] 9:22 pm: OK, I have one- is Gettysburg 'shoes' in anyway equivalent to Iraq ' WMD'?
[moderator] 9:23 pm: will the 'WMD' myth last as long as the 'shoes' myth?
[ole] 9:23 pm: Me
[moderator] 9:23 pm: go ole
[ole] 9:24 pm: First you'd have to accept that WMD = myth. Then you'd have to accept that the Rebs really expected to find shoes a few days after others had been through town.
[moderator] 9:26 pm: So this is a matter of who gets the upper hand as to how the history is passed down, isn't it, just the theme of the book.
[william42] 9:26 pm: I have to search the book so I'm a little slow. The order was for Pettigrew to look for supplies (including shoes) and somehow the shoes part was embellished over the years until it became the primary cause for entering Gettysburg and the battle that followed.
[ole] 9:27 pm: Lost Cause. Shoeless rebels.
[william42] 9:28 pm: It still is a popular theory. In 2000 I worked for a boss who knew I studied the war, and he said one day, "That whole Gettysburg thing was over shoes wasn't it?"
[moderator] 9:28 pm: Ole tht's chap 6 I think
[ole] 9:29 pm: Such is the nature of the myth --- repeated until it becomes history.


continued, next post...........
 
2nd continuation:

[william42] 9:30 pm: Today at the doctor I had some info cards with photos of leaders on the front and a short history of them on the back. The doctor saw the photo on top which was of Grant, then said, "You know I heard that his liver was so hard that he could get shot there and the bullet would bounce off."
[william42] 9:31 pm: I'm gonna have to bail guys. My pup has to poop I'm pretty sure. See ya.
[ole] 9:31 pm: What's the thing about who gets the upper hand having anything to do with who starts a myth?
[moderator] 9:32 pm: Ok, I'm wondering what to do with this 'discuusion' we are about to enter (as I see it) into the most interesting parts of the book, but as we have little participation, I am at a loss as t how to, or even, to proceed.
[Honored Dead]: william42 has left at 9:32 pm
[ole] 9:33 pm: We can continue it between ourselves. No sense quitting before it gets started.
[moderator] 9:33 pm: Wondering whereall the folks are who said they wanted to be involved?
[ole] 9:33 pm: Trash night? Baba WaWa?
[ole] 9:34 pm: Pup poop?
[moderator] 9:35 pm: Trash night? Baba WaWa? what?
[ole] 9:35 pm: Where all the folks are.
[moderator] 9:35 pm: TV?
[ole] 9:36 pm: Could be. Barbara Walters comes on right after Lost.
[ole] 9:36 pm: Why anyone would want to watch that escapes me.
[moderator] 9:37 pm: CWers care about what BW says?
[ole] 9:37 pm: Can't find my book. Dear one keeps putting things away for me. Can't find my tools either.
[ole] 9:37 pm: This CWer does not.
[moderator] 9:38 pm: OK, Ole, thanks for hanging it, maybe this is a grand failure. What to do?
[ole] 9:39 pm: Have we gotten to the chapter where Warren (or was it Hancock) has a round fired into Pitzker's woods to see if there were rebs.
[ole] 9:39 pm: Keep on truckin.' It's not over yet.
[moderator] 9:40 pm: Yeah, Chap 2
[moderator] 9:41 pm: " do you see them now!"
[ole] 9:41 pm: I couldn't figure out what the author was talking about -- it was impossible to see sunlight glinting off gunbarrels. Strikes me as nonsense.
[moderator] 9:42 pm: was confusing
[ole] 9:42 pm: I have about 5 flags where the author made a similar judgement that just didn't add up.
[ole] 9:43 pm: But I can't find the effing book.
[ole] 9:43 pm: Found it! My bad. I was the one who put it away.
[moderator] 9:44 pm: Wish we could explore those, why dont you post the on the regular site: Also see the thread 'Book Discussion - Honored Dead' in the Book and Movie Review Tent, to follow up on the chat.
[ole] 9:46 pm: Good suggestion. That will pick up those who can't show up between x and y -- and spread the discussion over 24/7. More time to write and respond. Slower, but possible.
[Honored Dead]: wilco has entered at 9:49 pm
[moderator] 9:49 pm: I'm just going to stop and figure what went wring, many folks said they were going to participate, but few did. The more interesting chapters stilll to come, should I try to revive it? most participants went ahead and commented about the book in full instead of going along with the progression of the book.
[ole] 9:49 pm: Welcome, wilco. Or is it Roger?
[moderator] 9:49 pm: Hi wilco
[wilco] 9:49 pm: William actually
[ole] 9:50 pm: Sam Grant wouldn't have stopped to figure out what was wrong. He'd have kept going and fixed it.
[wilco] 9:50 pm: Shane said you were talking about Mr Desjardin?
[moderator] 9:50 pm: If you are her for the book thing, I'n afraid youare late.
[ole] 9:51 pm: But say something anyway.
[wilco] 9:51 pm: I'm a Lurker; most of what you boys talk about is over my head
[ole] 9:51 pm: Temporarily.
[moderator] 9:52 pm: there's a big difference between 'samgrant' and Sam Grant!
[wilco] 9:52 pm: I told Shane about the book; what do you boys think about it?
[moderator] 9:53 pm: shane was the one who turned me on to that book!
[ole] 9:53 pm: The author has shone a light on the origin of a few of the many myths accepted as truth today.
[wilco] 9:54 pm: I worked at the park when Mr Desjardin was there
[ole] 9:54 pm: I hate myths. If Sam Grant cheated on Julia and tortured puppies, I want to know about it.
[Honored Dead]: blue_zouave has entered at 9:54 pm
[ole] 9:54 pm: In what capacity, wilco?
[moderator] 9:54 pm: Well, as you might see, thioughts about it are at a premium.
[ole] 9:54 pm: Hey, Blue.
[wilco] 9:54 pm: mowed grass and used gas
[blue_zouave] 9:54 pm: Uff da, Ole!
[blue_zouave] 9:55 pm: So who is our moderator?
[ole] 9:55 pm: Manga tuk, Blue
[moderator] 9:55 pm: worthwhile work
[ole] 9:55 pm: Sam is.
[blue_zouave] 9:56 pm: OK, Kewl
[moderator] 9:56 pm: it's was sam
[ole] 9:56 pm: Wish I could get a job like that. Made friends with some of the greenskeepers at Perryville.
[moderator] 9:56 pm: all over Blue, save the transcript
[ole] 9:57 pm: Do you have to leave, Sam?
[wilco] 9:57 pm: hot as hell in July and August and tourists trash everywhere.
[moderator] 9:58 pm: yes, "working on a golf course", almost idealic
[moderator] 9:58 pm: just running the big lawn mowers!
[moderator] 9:59 pm: I'm gonna save this #$%^&* for posterity before we get too far off.
 
Well, only about a half dozen folks showed up for the Book Discussion Chat.

We got thru, sort of, chapter 3.

The meatiest parts of the book star at Chapter 4, however.

So, if you'd like to continue the discussion in this thread, this is the place.

Chap. 4 - the Meade, Sickles controversy
Chap. 5 - John Bachelder .... "High Water Mark", etc.
Chap. 6 - making of 'The Lost Cause' ...
Chap. 7 - Evolution of the consumate hero - Chamberlain.....
Chap. 8 - Bickering about Monuments
Chap. 9 - The Powerful Image
Chap. 10- Valhalla, -

"Hell, the whole ****ed battlefield is my memorial!" -Dan Sickles

So, I'm retiring from the Book Discussion business, any one feel free to pick up that flag!
 
For those who didn't make it to the discussion, you missed the beginning of what promises to be a valuable experience.

I'm sure Sam would not object if someone started another group on another book.
Ole
 
The Civil War: the Truth and the Legend

By BRUCE CATTON​

The final truth of history is an evasive and a many-sided thing. It is what really happened, and it is what men have thought really happened; it is what men did, and the emotions that moved them while they were doing it; it is the hard facts that lie under the gloss of romance, and it is also the gloss itself—for the act of dreaming can be as important as the thing dreamed of. It is infinitely complex, a house of many mansions, something that never quite becomes fixed.
So the story is never really finished. Each generation comes to its own conclusions, and the ultimate meaning has a way of lying, half-hidden, just over the top of the next hill. So “the lesson of history” remains fluid; perhaps, in the end, it is nothing much more definite than the demonstration that human life is a many-splendored thing of infinite variety and an all but incomprehensible complexity.
We have, for instance, the American Civil War. Here was a great convulsion which tore the country apart and put it together again in a strange new way, a process of violence and bloodshed that, in one way or another, has affected all of the lives of every American since 1865, and which will go on having its effects for generations to come. It is both terrifying and fascinating; we are not yet quite sure what it all meant, and it remains subject to almost any number of interpretations.
 
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