Time can be cruel. I’m not talking about the ravages of age when I say that – although, christ, the closer I creep to forty the creakier I become – but I’m thinking, I suppose, about legacy. The very nature of history, especially when it’s oral in its delivery, is that it becomes truncated. Short-form takes over. For instance – think of a Prime Minister or President (back when we had normal ones of those, anyway), or the manager of a sports team, their tenure often ends up defined very broadly, no matter how much nuance there was at the time. Oftentimes, it’s good or bad, with little in between. Which is a shame – because sometimes the nuance is where the most interesting thinking resides.
