History and the Individual

History does not crush individuals. History is separate from individual lives. History is largely irrelevant to individuals and individuals often deem history is irrelevant to them.  Yet it is history that affects the mass of people. How lucky or unlucky we are to avoid or to participate in history is a choice on the part of the individual. The choice that an individual makes is unique to an individual. It's the same kind of uniqueness one might see in the way a tree grows, a snowflake is formed or when comparing individual fingerprints.

However, if the decision is to actively participate in history or to actively avoid history that is a choice. But not the choice that history itself had made for the individual. Sometimes it seems there isn't a choice. And maybe even sometimes there isn't one. The individual gets swept along. How that individual reacts to history is the outcome for the individual even when the outcome can only be in one direction.

Now this last may seem contradictory given the history that we know of wars past, movements past where many participate and many die as a result but even the non participant dies as well, not having made that choice. Ultimately the individual is completely forgotten unless that individual is an extraordinary participant or non-participant.

What is history? History are the events that are recorded but also recorded rarely if ever without the bias of the historian doing the recording. Ignored or forgotten are the individuals unless the individuals are numerous in a particular event where a mass of them are slaughtered or has accomplished something noteworthy. Yet it's only the event that is known where a large group participated. Even at the time of an event if a particular individual is extraordinary may be forgotten or ignored in time by history. But for the non-extraordinary person it's as if that person did not exist.

For example when we think of the Civil Rights movement that lasted at least in the public's eye well over a decade and accomplished much though not enough, a couple of names stand out: M.L. King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. There were certainly many more extraordinary individuals than those two. Today there is a continuance of civil rights but who can name another extraordinary individual? I'm sure there are some who can but generally there are quite a few. Yet the mass of individuals who made up that movement are unknown.  Another example is when a man stepped on the moon for the first time. Generally we remember Neil Armstrong, maybe Buzz Aldrin (the second man to walk on the moon). But Michael Collins who was in charge of the command module? Largely ignored. What about those thousands who got them all to the moon and then brought them back?   

Ultimately the great majority of individuals are irrelevant to the historical process. Consider us as an ant colony. Each ant has its prescribed role through evolution but not one could possibly grasp the whole.  This is who we are. We are incapable of grasping the whole. 

Does that make history irrelevant in the extreme? Absolutely not. History can't be forgotten. It's how we at this moment have gotten where we are. "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." --George Santayana. Simple in its dictum. But it's not just large historical events but on an individual level it's an individual's history. What choices were made? What choices were ignored? It is easy to blame history for our failures or to applaud history for our successes. What we need to do is to make the leap from history into humanity. How that ever may happen is beyond my understanding.