Being much inspired by the Norwegians and Danes in this regard, we have a company lunch every Wednesday at work. We don’t often have herring, cheese and open-face sandwiches, but we commonly have lively conversations about the world. It could be argued that some of the topics we discuss aren’t really fit for the workplace, but we’re a small group, so we’re lax about such things, and that’s beside the point anyway. I bring it up because it’s clear that we all see the world from different perspectives, largely shaped by when, where and how we grew up. Some of us are Boomers, some Gen-X, some right proper Millennials, so we’re all drawing on different contexts and notions about what’s important – or central maybe – to whatever we’re talking about. The issue of context has become increasingly important to me as I’ve gotten older and seek to better understand why and/or how the world came to be as it is. Enter Dan Carlin.
My friend Eric steered me to “Hardcore History” after we fed over a conversation about World War I. At the time, my knowledge on this subject was pretty superficial, and he thought I might like the “Blueprint for Armageddon” series. Boy did I. Like many people (I’ve since come to learn), I was impressed by Carlin’s storytelling, but even more so by his expansive and evenhanded approach to content. I admire him for his humility in referring to himself as a “history enthusiast” rather than a “historian” (though I think it would be fair to say he does a historian’s work), that he highlights the human element amid the dates and places he discusses, and that his perspective on current events rests on a detailed understanding of “how we got here.” You can listen to his thoughts on contemporary dramas in his “Common Sense” series. You may not always agree with him – those of you on the political extremes probably won’t – but you’ll find him thoughtful and fair-minded and, not least, one of the few restorative harbors in what I see as an incendiary sea of ventriloquated opinion.
-G