my opinion

  History through my eyes. It's unfortunate that I wasn't paying more attention and so my history is quite incomplete. I recall being assigned to write reports on current events while in high school. We were encouraged to read the local newspaper as well as other major publications. You could go to the library and read those papers on big sticks. The upper-class men would do so, in the smoking room sitting in those big wing back chairs. Very sophisticated. I was impressed with that knowing those guys had money! The money people didn't have a lot of common sense, but they knew what was happening in the world. They had to, to protect their money. That's the problem with being rich, everyone is always trying to get your money. You have to stay on your toes. Mostly they read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. I did read the East Hampton Star every week and sometimes Newsday. As I said, it was for understanding current events. It was only much later in life that I realized that current events meant different things to different people. Things like who got elected for instance. I wasn't really paying attention to that. I got the free stuff at campaign headquarters no matter which party it was. That was the only effect it had on me. Which one had the best stuff? Book covers, pens, pencils, calendars and some pot holders for Mom was always good. I wasn't much on bumper stickers or campaign buttons except for one, Billy Jack for president! Looking back, I sure did miss a lot of historic events. I mean I was around but not really paying attention. 

 The two biggest events would have been the assassination of Kennedy and landing on the moon. I recall quite clearly the moon landing on July 20th, 1969. More so because it happened on my birthday than anything else. I watched along with everyone else the grainy pictures broadcast on television. I don't recall anyone questioning that it was really happening at the time. Later some tried to say it was all fake, a trick to fool those commies! It worked too, as no one else has tried going there since. We are the only ones. We did it six times, last one in 1972. I wasn't paying attention then though, just another moon landing no big deal. It was cool, but I didn't see any reason to keep doing that. As for the Kennedy assassination I just remember the teacher telling us all the news, she cried a little bit and asked us all to pray. I was in fourth grade if memory serves. I remember hearing that it had something to do with the commies. The commies were always doing something bad when I was growing up. I knew about that from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons with Boris and Natasha. 

 Today I look back on all the things that have happened with a different view. The view of history through my eyes. When you are young history is always something written in a book and told by others. As the years go by you begin to write some history of your own. You also begin to understand the history that you were taught in the past. It can get confusing as sensibilities change. That has become increasingly evident to me, especially in the last few years. Fact is that a lot of people have lost all common sense! I realize we are not privy to all the information. There is much hidden from the general public, and much hidden between individuals as well. Today we are more concerned with misinformation that we seem to be with actual information. There is a reason for that. Misdirection is the key ingredient to any magic show. 

 That is what social media has become, a tool for misdirection. In the old days, like when I was a kid reading those newspapers, that was accomplished by the editor of the papers. Depending upon the political bent of the editor, the news was "reported" accordingly. There was, in most cases, no alternative publication readily available. At least that was the case where I lived. The papers were sold according to the circulation numbers for that area. It didn't make financial sense to have papers available that people didn't buy. There was no going "online" to check. The only thing "online" then was the wash being dried. The result was you pretty much got the opinion of the editor. The news would be tempered accordingly. It was far more subtle back then. The news was reported, and any bias was cleverly disguised, mostly by pointing out this was an unbiased opinion. The editorial column was used to express bias!

 I've managed to reach seventy years old and witness a bit of history. I've read history and even made some history, albeit nothing memorable just a footnote or two. I have learned one important thing from living this long. All history is a matter of opinion. The facts may remain unchanged, but the history may still be modified just a bit. It's a very active process right now with the history of America. The 1619 project is perhaps the most glaring example of that. The facts are wrong but being taught as facts. America was not founded in 1619 with the arrival of the first slaves sold in North America. That was a British colony, duh. But that doesn't matter to many that believe this new American narrative. It's really just an opinion. Kennedy was killed by the CIA because he was having an affair with Marilyn Monroe, and Marilyn was killed because she knew too much, and Ruby shot Oswald under contract from the mob. We never landed on the moon it was done in the Arizona desert. You can get the wrong assignment at birth. Our election system is 100% secure! No fraud anywhere to be found. It's all a matter of opinion. History isn't fact, it is opinion. That's my opinion, and that is a fact. Your facts may be different than mine, but they mean the same thing, you just haven't learned that yet. Give it time, history repeats itself you know.