The Presence of the Past

The “Presence of the Past” by Rosenzwieg and Thelem could be a real stepping stone in our assessment of the past. We leave in the “digital society”, but our history, our human roots and personal experience is what makes what we are. The authors did a great job by undertaking such a project, which involved people w/different background and their reaction to the historical events. One of the striking examples is the conveyance of the past by the Native Americans and the Westerners, who, although living at the same time, responded differently to same events. People more and more concern about their cultural identities; form the other hand, more and more, especially the younger generation is trying to get “Americanized’. But generally, people want to know their history, and they want it for their children, so they could proudly bear the heritage of the ancestors.
However, for certain categories, this started only when they come to the US to look for better opportunities. It appears, that local grouping “consume” people’s identity and although they are part of the country now, their bounds to the mother-country are still strong. Some learn of the history through the big events, such as WWII, Civil Rights movement, Gulf War and the like. But mostly, the authors assembled “local” narratives, interviewing people for specifically designated questions about their family, work, marriage etc. Media played an important role as well and some respondents got “addicted” to various serials from which they’ve learned of the past, and compared it with the personal experience.
Overall, the book produces a very good analysis of the people’s involvement, “dealing” with the past (although some people feel excluded) as a part of their own heritage and importance of carefully preserving it, as such, for the further generations. This understanding moves slowly from the older generation to their posterity, because it is our “American collective past,” a true field for the public historian.