My family and I went to a fascinating museum the other day. It’s a pioneer museum in our small German-heritage-laden town, and this particular day they featured some “live exhibits.” There was a blacksmith banging on an anvil, some men making rope, a nice lady churning butter, etc. All around us were examples of what everyday life was like a century ago.
Perhaps it’s just the Mayberry in me, but I love these kinds of places. My grandma used to tell me stories of life on the farm and one-room schoolhouses, so to see it up close made me feel connected to the past in some way.
It’s also quite the reality check. When you make a “pound-for-pound” comparison of life now versus then -- you realize that, by pioneer standards, many of us have never done the equivalent of a full day’s work We consider it a major inconvenience when the heat is out in our car. But imagine with me if you will: washing your laundry by hand, churning your own butter, making all of your own clothing, harvesting all of your food -- you see where I’m going. Don’t get me wrong -- I’m truly thankful for modern conveniences that prevent me from having to do things like make my own furniture. All the same, I wonder how satisfying it must have been back then to look around your home and see so many tangible results of one’s labor.
I wonder if 100 years from now, thirty-something career men and women will look back on this decade and think of us as having “roughed it.” Will there be a museum someday with people demonstrating archaic lifestyle techniques such as using a microwave, downloading music on a laptop, or making the arduous journey all the way to the store to buy groceries? Will future generations admire us for our tenacity in such “tough times”? Or will history preserve a more sobering truth -- that we are largely spoiled, addicted to our own comfort, and wasteful of many of our most precious resources?
When we consider our technological and philosophical advances, we may have a tendency to look back on pioneers as “unenlightened” in some way; but I feel that there is much to be learned from them. They perfected something that we seem to have lost: the art of making do with what you have and sacrificing for the good of others.
