A trip down heritage lane...

While reading through “The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History” by David Lowenthal I found myself thinking about the sense of belonging we so desperately seek as human beings, which is only natural. Heritage plays a key role in that belonging and knowing where you came from; even as early on as middle schools (and sometimes elementary school) kids are doing heritage projects or family trees. It has a similar, funny parallel to how so many argue about history that you “need to know where you came from to know where you’re going”. Lowenthal points out that the search for legacy and heritage can uproot “unwelcomed legacies” that your ancestors have left behind, which may be associations you want to avoid. The point is your past doesn’t set the path for you; America is founded on the values of climbing up the social strata and succeeding beyond your socioeconomic status to great heights. What heritage is important in is that it can set a sense of morals, beliefs, a sense of belonging, and taking responsibility for what we do in our lifetime. Throughout history, heritage has played a crucial role in government, whether passing on leadership, and in lineage has also been important in certain inheritances. Right now, as both members of our family and citizens of this society, we are leaving behind legacies about our culture and the world around us that people will be looking back on some day; much like we do with, say the 1950s “Golden Age”. I wonder what our life will be summed up as in a catch phrase?