What we remember

"History is a tissue of such tender episodes, if also an imperfect record of them"

                                   - Paul Maliszewski , Smithsonian magazine, September 2003

I just came across this sentence in an article on Smithsonian.com about iconic images of the 9/11 tragedy, reposted today as part of a remembrance series for the 10th Anniversary. Not only does it echo a lot of my own opinions on the nature of History and how we can manipulate how events are remembered to leave multiple conflicting versions of History, it also links nicely to my project.  History is by no measure always an accurate record of events, particularly when the people and events in question provoke such high levels of emotional involvement of the masses. In fact, I'm not even sure there is such a thing as an "accurate record" as very little of real life is quantitative and therefore to some degree every recollection of history is simply a subjective record, whether innocently in an observer only naturally noticing what they are inclined to notice or more intentionally in the case of propaganda schemes. Overall, just down to way history is recorded to some JFK's hero status will feel truly deserved whereas to others who interpret the same evidence differently it may feel more manufactured. At the end of the day, it's nicer to remember people for the best in their life rather than the worst, and so even though there may be many people out there who equally deserve to have a heroic status it doesn't take a way from the fact that Kennedy, a man whose word's and action have brought inspiration and happiness to many, deserves this status at least to some extent, regardless of the less endearing decisions he made at points in his life