As I search my family tree and add pieces to it I often think, the past is a shadowy place. You just never know what may come into the light. This is especially true with relationships. I have seen some strange pairings. I did discover where a father married the widow of his son ! And the son had had a son with this lady, so grandfather was step-father too. How strange is that ? There are quite a number of second cousins marrying cousins. It is difficult to sort it all out at times. Old records often do not mention such things as junior and senior. Well, you are not a senior until there is a junior so that is the explanation for that. Still, later on jr. and sr. are easily confused. I'm a jr. Seldom do I write that, even more so since Dad has passed. I'm still jr. but feel like I'm senior now. There is no third.
Back in the old days there was much that wasn't discussed. It was considered impolite to speak of the dead. One could mention them but never in a bad light. Whatever sins or indiscretions they may have committed were interred with them. For that reason many gaps are in the record. This is true even among the family members. There are certain behaviors that are ingrained in us during childhood. They vary generation to generation and cause much consternation for the older folks. That is what is behind this recent flap over the national Anthem. It was ingrained into me that you stood, faced the flag and put your hand over your heart when the anthem was played. It is an automatic reflex. The hat comes off ! Many do not do that anymore, standing is expected but not much more. Watch any sporting event when they play the Anthem. You'll see what I mean. Twenty years from now, it will optional. That is what bothers us, this optional attitude. The big difference now is everything is discussed ! Everything is analyzed and laid bare. Future generations won't have to guess about anything.
Now as far as searching the family tree, looking into the shadows so to speak, it will get a great deal more difficult I believe. The information will be available because of our present day openness but the options will be much greater. In the old days marriages where always men and women ! Always. In the old days men stayed men, now they can decide to be otherwise. That alone should cause some confusion in the records. Biologically we know that parents have to be a man and a women but that doesn't mean they will be identified. The parents could be two guys, two gals or whatever. Bio doesn't have much logic then ! Of course that is another topic. In that case the truth will be hiding in broad daylight. Isn't that odd ? You won't be able to " expect " anything as there is no standard. Everything becomes optional, even lineage.
It has been said that we live in the information age. I understand exactly what they are saying. There are few things that are not written down, shared, and preserved for the future. Data of all types is being stored at an amazing rate. It is there if you search for it. It is available to everyone, no matter where you live. That is the real beauty of this internet, the exchange of information. It may not always be correct but it is there. You can check sources but then you have to verify the source that verified your source. It has always been so, it is just that it is so much easier to disseminate bogus information these days.
I would say that we live in the " optional " age. Everything is becoming optional. Standards are looked upon as restrictive and in some cases, prejudicial. We mustn't offend. That is the only standard I see being generally enforced in society. You can be a total jerk as long as you don't offend. I will even use the Constitution and the Bill or Rights to prove my point. If the law doesn't specifically prohibit my behavior it is my right ! Free speech is protected, as long as it doesn't offend anyone. Then we call it " hate speech. " You can be arrested for that. Everything else is optional. Even punishing those that violate common sense and dignity is optional. Wouldn't want to offend. The age of acceptance is upon us. We are being conditioned to just accept whatever is presented. But even that isn't enough, we are also being conditioned to embrace it as " enlightened. "
Well I meandered off topic a bit. I hope you enjoyed the stroll. My thoughts just naturally went to that place. I was thinking about searching the family tree and how that is accomplished. We start with a few basic assumptions. Things like Mom and Dad are man and woman. They were married. That type of thing. It wasn't always true back then, but expected. Today I don't think you can say that. Too many options. And too many options tend to blur the results. Variety is the spice of life but it can also be over seasoned ! I like using a recipe. The results are far more consistent that way. It is better when we can all agree.
Back in the old days there was much that wasn't discussed. It was considered impolite to speak of the dead. One could mention them but never in a bad light. Whatever sins or indiscretions they may have committed were interred with them. For that reason many gaps are in the record. This is true even among the family members. There are certain behaviors that are ingrained in us during childhood. They vary generation to generation and cause much consternation for the older folks. That is what is behind this recent flap over the national Anthem. It was ingrained into me that you stood, faced the flag and put your hand over your heart when the anthem was played. It is an automatic reflex. The hat comes off ! Many do not do that anymore, standing is expected but not much more. Watch any sporting event when they play the Anthem. You'll see what I mean. Twenty years from now, it will optional. That is what bothers us, this optional attitude. The big difference now is everything is discussed ! Everything is analyzed and laid bare. Future generations won't have to guess about anything.
Now as far as searching the family tree, looking into the shadows so to speak, it will get a great deal more difficult I believe. The information will be available because of our present day openness but the options will be much greater. In the old days marriages where always men and women ! Always. In the old days men stayed men, now they can decide to be otherwise. That alone should cause some confusion in the records. Biologically we know that parents have to be a man and a women but that doesn't mean they will be identified. The parents could be two guys, two gals or whatever. Bio doesn't have much logic then ! Of course that is another topic. In that case the truth will be hiding in broad daylight. Isn't that odd ? You won't be able to " expect " anything as there is no standard. Everything becomes optional, even lineage.
It has been said that we live in the information age. I understand exactly what they are saying. There are few things that are not written down, shared, and preserved for the future. Data of all types is being stored at an amazing rate. It is there if you search for it. It is available to everyone, no matter where you live. That is the real beauty of this internet, the exchange of information. It may not always be correct but it is there. You can check sources but then you have to verify the source that verified your source. It has always been so, it is just that it is so much easier to disseminate bogus information these days.
I would say that we live in the " optional " age. Everything is becoming optional. Standards are looked upon as restrictive and in some cases, prejudicial. We mustn't offend. That is the only standard I see being generally enforced in society. You can be a total jerk as long as you don't offend. I will even use the Constitution and the Bill or Rights to prove my point. If the law doesn't specifically prohibit my behavior it is my right ! Free speech is protected, as long as it doesn't offend anyone. Then we call it " hate speech. " You can be arrested for that. Everything else is optional. Even punishing those that violate common sense and dignity is optional. Wouldn't want to offend. The age of acceptance is upon us. We are being conditioned to just accept whatever is presented. But even that isn't enough, we are also being conditioned to embrace it as " enlightened. "
Well I meandered off topic a bit. I hope you enjoyed the stroll. My thoughts just naturally went to that place. I was thinking about searching the family tree and how that is accomplished. We start with a few basic assumptions. Things like Mom and Dad are man and woman. They were married. That type of thing. It wasn't always true back then, but expected. Today I don't think you can say that. Too many options. And too many options tend to blur the results. Variety is the spice of life but it can also be over seasoned ! I like using a recipe. The results are far more consistent that way. It is better when we can all agree.
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