In my History class we have already begun to talk about “history” and what it means to certain people. Without using any sort of media or dictionary, I would define history as the retelling of past events that changed the world, (for good or bad) as seen through one person’s eyes. What I mean by this is that history is always being told to us in the way that people from the past said it happened. Therefore, when I was faced with the question “what do you think about the statement ‘history is an argument’?” I had to fully agree that history is indeed an argument. First of all, no one alive today was alive during 1492 when Christopher Columbus sailed to America, yet everyone knows this story and tells it in virtually the same way. The reason this is, is simply because historians wrote down their view of what happened and there was no one there to deny this, therefore, that was the end of that. If the Native American people had been able to contribute their view of the story things may have been recorded differently than they had been. In our textbook it talks about all of the wars won by the United States, which in some cases could be argued were actually losses, however, it was written the way it was because the author was able to write their own opinion of how they saw things. Even in our textbook history is being written from the viewpoints of people who were never actually at the site where the historic moment took place, yet they can argue their side and still be correct because their opinion reflects that of the masses. Although I have said history is an argument that does not mean that there is necessarily a right or wrong opinion on the matter. Instead what it means is simply that the opinion you read on paper may not be exactly what happened, but it is usually close to the main premise and it was recorded because more people agreed than disagreed that this was the way it happened. Certainly history is an argument, but it is also an argument with no right or wrong answer. Instead, history is simply recorded opinions and views on what happened, where it happened, and why it happened.
Monday, January 30, 2012
About the Author...
My name is Adam Stevens and I will be writing this blog as part of my requirements for my History class. First I will talk a little bit about myself. I am twenty years old and was born and raised right here in the state of Texas, Houston to be exact. My parents have been divorced ever since I was a little kid which seems sad until you realize that every Christmas and birthday I got double what most other kids got, so that was pretty cool.
I have a standard poodle named Cara that lives back in Houston with my family. My dog is one of those things in life that is very important to me and I love her very much, honestly I would have had a much sadder high school life if it hadn’t been for her and my friends. Some of my friends go to UTSA but the majority of them are spread out all the way from Colorado down to Corpus Christi. Although I have missed my friends since being up at college, it has made it that much more fun and exciting when I get to see them on vacations and such.
All throughout my life it has been my goal to become more educated because I do truly believe that happiness comes from being informed and educated, especially since receiving a good education usually means that you will make more money later in life. I know that some people disagree that money buys happiness, however I must refute these statements by pointing out that people who have money are generally less stressed, which in turn will lead to a happier life. In order to alleviate stress I personally find longboarding to be the best for me, because when I am longboarding it gives me time to think. I can think about what needs to get done today, what I want to be doing tomorrow, and what I will want to be doing 5 years from now.
One last thing about me is that I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I always have to complete something once it’s been started. As a kid I went into Boy Scouts and even though two of my close friends quit, I was determined to finish. I can now happily tell people that I am an Eagle Scout, but more importantly I gained the personal satisfaction of competing what I started at a young age and also having the knowledge that comes with the title. I hope that once you have read this you will feel a connection to myself and to my writings, and that this will no longer be just another blog, but instead it will become – Adam’s Blog!
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