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Tag Archives: what if

What if…you had to choose a war to live through

The PolyBlog
June 25 2019

I mentioned in a previous post that I have a copy of “If… (Questions for the Game of Life)” by Evelyn McFarlane and James Saywell (Villard Books, 1995). It gives you an “If…” question about life, and you answer it. Good for dinner parties or blogs, apparently.

The one I’m tweaking today is “If you could have lived through any war in history (without actually fighting in it), which war would you choose?”. 

Of course, nobody is going to really choose a war to live through. Unless they’re being literal, in which case the shortest war or the most localized war would be best, with you on the other side of the planet, preferably. And to be honest, to even attempt to answer that question and figure out what some of the parameters might be is a bit horrific to think about. All war is hell.

But, if I go sideways for a second, and ask about seeing the sociological changes that happen during the same time, WWII is probably my war of choice. Knowing the outcome, knowing the reality, it would be incredible to see how people got their news, and reacted to it, in real-time. As a child who became aware of the world in the 80s, it’s hard to imagine news being shared at movie theatres rather than on the radio or TV. Changes in the roles of women both during and after the war. PTSD as humans came back — “shell shock” at the time. Even the horrific but gradual awareness of the reality of the concentration camps as the news started to enter into mainstream thought, not just occasional rumours that were dismissed as outrageous, impossible, unreliable even.

Some of the interest is grim, some of it is academic, but much of life in the Western hemisphere changed in a five- or six-year timeframe. All wars have been catalysts for change…this one just resonates more with me as I can see glimpses of the before and after.

If you had to live through a war, or just simply observe the changes from one, which would you choose?

Posted in Learning and Ideas | Tagged what if, wish | Leave a reply

What if…you could teleport to anywhere on Earth for a day

The PolyBlog
June 18 2019

Awhile ago, I picked up a copy of “If… (Questions for the Game of Life)” by Evelyn McFarlane and James Saywell (Villard Books, 1995). I don’t even remember how I got it…gift, impulse buy, used, whatever. But the idea behind it is a list of “If…” questions that you can ask yourself or others in a group to have a fun or excruciating series of conversations about people creativity, wishes, and whims. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? If you could have dinner with anyone in history for one … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning and Ideas | Tagged what if, wish | Leave a reply

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