"Today we are fighting Communism. Okay. If I'd been alive fifty years ago, the brand of Conservatism we have today would have been damn near called Communism and we should have been told to go and fight that. History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts"
- Thor Heyerdahl
About this Quote
This quote by Thor Heyerdahl talks to the ever-changing nature of history and how quickly the heroes and bad guys of the past can become the villains and heroes of the present. Heyerdahl is suggesting that if he had lived fifty years back, the brand of Conservatism we have today would have been thought about Communism and we would have been informed to fight it. He is indicating that the labels of great and bad are constantly shifting which what is thought about good today might be considered bad tomorrow. Heyerdahl is warning us to be familiar with the altering nature of history and to be mindful not to evaluate too quickly. He is likewise recommending that we should be open to various perspectives and ideologies, as what is considered extreme today may be the norm tomorrow.
"A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect"
"We have our own history, our own language, our own culture. But our destiny is also tied up with the destinies of other people - history has made us all South Africans"
