This was a question I asked throughout my school time. As a matter of fact in my Senior year, I almost did not graduate because I could see no earthly use in learning anything about Shakespeare’s Hamlet. To me it was the most absurd of all the tons of absurdities I was forced to learn. I forced myself to spend enough time with the tragic prince to squeak by with a passing grade. History was also a “bummer” for me, too.
Later that summer a friend forced me to go to a Civil War Reenactment with “her” to watch her brother. At that event I finally saw someone having a ”hoot” of a time with history. I was fascinated with the pretend fight. Always being a shy dude I was never really in with any special highschool group of kids. But I saw these guys behaving like it was a football game, and they were winning the state playoff game or something. They performed a simulated battle with cavalry, foot soldiers, cannons, rifles and swords. I went to their battles a number of times that summer, but never joined the group. I did learn that they were very adamant about how their clothing, and weapons had to be as realistic as possible. I did carry a sword to one of the Sunday battles with the thought that I would be one of the foot soldiers. The sword was a cheap thing that I picked up at a flea market. The pommel was a naked lady. Needless to say, they did not let me march, because a college was filming the battle to show in an American History class. . I was embarrassed about that silly sword, so I bought a cheap sabre, but I didn’t go back there for a few years.
I had a few jobs like helping a skilled automobile mechanic with menial tasks that I was able to do without taxing my brain too much. I needed to keep up my old pickup. I had a lot of spare time so I played a lot of video games. I played war on a computer and was really good at it. I tinkered with my cheap sword; bought a scabbard and escaped my hum-drum existence by pretending I was some kind of Medieval war hero.
Then an event occurred that shocked me enough to do something with my life. I enlisted and no longer played at war; it was the real thing. The experience did a lot for my ego. For the first time in my life I was proud of myself. I walked many a mile with a rifle in my hand, at the front of the troops like the Pikesmen of old.
I have seen a lot of the world and learned that good people are the same everywhere. Like a lot of country boys I didn’t know the difference between “Iraq and Iran”. Now I do. I also know why the study of the past is so important. I learned that there were Crusades that began more than a thousand years ago. This conflict is overwhelming with no simple solution.
I do not know what happened to my “naked lady” sword. I replaced it with a several battle swords. I was taught swordsmanship by a wonderful Middle Eastern master and sage. He helped me because I asked. I practice regularly like the Medieval knights and Samurai warriors did years ago.
History repeats itself many times over. I found this out the hard way. Now many people are engaged in reliving historical events, i.e. Civil War, Medieval, Renaissance, Roman, Viking, Celtic and on and on. It is a great thing and a good way to build comraderie even if you are not the top jock. Get into the past; it will help you with your future.