History Now

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I promised to write about Marie de Medici (one of the lesser remembered members of the amazingly complex and powerful Medici family and mother/regent to Louis XIII of France) but after my very brief lesson on Catherine the Great yesterday a couple people found it necessary to accuse me of being a Russian sympathizer. They were, of course, referring to recent events concerning the invasion of Georgia by Russian military. I feel no need to address this particular problem, but I realize now that if I am going to be writing a blog based in both the mythology and fact of history, I should state a couple things that I probably should have mentioned earlier in some sort of mission statement post:

1) While I do have both strong and weak political views, I will write, to the best of my ability, this blog from an unbiased standpoint. Meaning, while my opinion might come out on certain… events, the purpose of this blog is not to force them upon you but rather to provide you with the information (or the beginnings of information that may inspire you to do further research) and allow you to come to your own conclusions. If you wish to debate, I’d love that, but just know that what I write here is not done in a confrontational manner.

2) You have to remember that while talking about history, lines cannot always be drawn between the past and now in such a clear cut fashion (at least when it comes to talking about the identity of a country). Russia in the 1700s is not the same Russia as the 1970s. And the Soviet Union is not the same as Russia now. Admitting that I admire Catherine the Great as a leader in no way tells you if I approve or disapprove of recent events in Russian history. While events from the past (for instance, the 30 Years War) end up affecting the present or recent history, a country from a hundred years ago cannot be measured using the same yard stick as one from today.

Think about how much America has changed in the past 100 years. There are people out there who would try to convince you otherwise, but they do it merely for political gain. America is not the same place as it was even 50 years ago. Russia is not the same place as it was under Catherine the Great and her personal history has absolutely nothing to do with Georgia or my feelings on the matter.

I hope that clears things up just a little bit. Depending on how many readers I get, and how many people comment, I might step aside and write a blog like this from time to time, but it shouldn’t be too often, so don’t worry. I just felt I should state this at the beginning.

Long Live You Shiny Happy People!

[Tomorrow: Marie de Medici]

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