Nostalgia

A Story by Johnmb8

Reflections on nostalgia's grasp upon basic thought

There is something encouraging about traveling through an old town. The city has depth. The city has soul. The city has a character about it that is all its own. Driving down the main road after miles of cotton fields, old plantation houses, and historical signs marking a battle in which the Confederacy trumped over the evils of the Union, one discovers basic truths. These markers reveal more about the area than anything currently presiding over the vast fields which continue on as far as the eye can see. Its difficult to place exactly what sentiment these markers evoke within the human condition. At first examination they prompt simple thought and amazement at the longevity of one location. We live for such a short period of time within the unknown of the infinite world while these reminders of the past live on forever. No matter what happens after our bodies lie in a grave, rotting, decomposing, and festering, the events of a location will last for all time. When every memory of the spot has faded, the tragedies and heroics of what has taken place will linger in the air, floating and transcending the trivialities of everyday life.

A deeper examination of the feeling of one of these markers though helps direct the mind towards a more viable and true solution. This sentiment is nostalgia. Nostalgia drives civilization. Nostalgia provides guidelines for how one lives life; it provides a source of direction for how one is supposed to live. This ideology reveals a simpler time in life. There was no technology, there were seemingly fewer problems, and there is comfort in understanding how the events which unfolded at the marker impacted and live on through the current period. Uncertainty is damning in the present time period and the nostalgic feeling of a historical location overrides this feeling by engaging the simple notion that we know the end result of a past conflict.

This nostalgia drives thoughts in any number of realms. Political ideology and discussion is driven by this concept. Nostalgia provides an easy way out for a description of why one believes what they do. Many of one's individual basic beliefs cannot be pinned down or illustrated without embracing the concept that we are bound to our earliest memories, regardless of the positivity or negative surrounding these thoughts. Change abruptly shatters the status quo. It doesn't matter how subtle or minuscule the change is, the threat of change interrupts the fake confidence that exists in the current time. The threat of change provides the uncertainty which wreaks havoc and chaos upon one's condition. We react against uncertainty. We react against change.

Relying upon nostalgia is a necessary part of our own existence. A child's memories of sitting at a kitchen table eating oatmeal before getting ready for school is comforting. The child is tended to by parents, the child is taken care of by the watchful eyes of a caring teacher, and the child comes home to be tucked in at night with a traditional good night kiss. This was perfection. One knows that life from that point to the current stage will follow a continuum resulting in the person that stands mired in thought while examining the contents of the historical marker's simple description of one day over a century ago:

The Battle of Rocky Way (March 17, 1863)

At this site in 1863, the Union army attempted to circumvent the Confederate supply line to Charleston by launching an early morning attack against the town of Bennettsville. Acting quickly upon tips from the local militia, the Confederate Army led by Jonathan Turner was able to turn away the Union at Rocky Way Creek. This heroic stand prevented the Union's advances to the coast and ultimate allowed for the Confederacy to push the Union away from the Confederate reinforcements.

The imagery of these words are limited. This simple statement for many would not register beyond a quick reminiscing of the olden days. Yet for some these words provide a shocking comfort akin to the child being tucked in at the end of a long school day. After the Battle of Rocky Way, it is known how the War ended. It is known what occurs after the War and it is known what occurs up to the present moment where one stands paralyzed on the brink of internal struggle. Nostalgia drives society and it drives deep thought. To criticize this history is to threaten the status quo and threaten the very land which proceeds for miles before disappearing against the setting sun casting orange and purple hues across the fields.

At once the sign means nothing, yet means everything. Nostalgia is the universal feeling of comfort.