41 Comments

I love this, so well put.

"The stories of the people who opposed what was happening are largely forgotten. What will history make of us? Who will write the memory of what we’ve made? Between the remnants and remembrance, what are we leaving behind that will survive beyond our days, and who will have the final say?"

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Thank you for your kind comments, Mr. Raven. Much appreciated 🙏💙💫

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Apr 24·edited Apr 24Liked by Joyce

It's funny I was actually wondering this morning if my papercuts would last beyond my death, as I have no kids, and I think the computer age my end at some point, they may be my legacy to the world, Physical objects whether they buildings or physical art pieces, or real books are important reminders of those who came before.

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Absolutely right, and whoever buys your papercut art works loves that style and will keep it. It will be your legacy. That, and your care for ‘old’ things, preserving them.

Like you, no kids, no family left, but the hope is that the values we carry along with us will be the seed for others to nurture and grow.

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“Shame on those who remain unmoved, whose pace fails to quicken, on entering one of these old habitations, a manor-house falling to wrack and ruin or a desecrated church!” ― Petrus Borel

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Thank you, Ed. They’ve always moved me.

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Cathedrals we’re built on the remains of sacred places that were placed on Ley lines energy vortexes, conjunctions of earth magnetic fields.

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Yes, I know. In order to stop ‘paganism’ churches covered those ancient places of worship.

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Shocking... or not probably.

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Yet the sacred and profane remains.

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Tell us more pls...

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Apr 24Liked by Joyce

If we forget where we came from, we are bound to go back and make the same mistakes...

No, they don't want us to remember what happens when a few ego maniacs take over the show and lead us all on a path of distruction.

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But we must remember. What we see in our time, what is left of old days, it needs to be remembered

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Apr 24Liked by Joyce

As I said... if we foget

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Agree Joyce.

In war, there are no winners or losers. Everyone loses humanity's two most valuable assets:

- human beings

- cultural heritage

The rest are interpretations of who wins and who loses

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I am not saying there are winners, there aren’t any. I’d rather say that in war all are losers. But I’ve used ‘victors’ in the way they dictacte how history is written, however subjective that may be.

And my essay was primarily dealing with buildings.

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Apr 24Liked by Joyce

And that is the sad truth!

I just hope that all humans will realize that! And soon!

We can only win one way, together.

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Yes, I understand that. I was just reinforcing our point of view. And I agree with you

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Apr 25Liked by Joyce

Sometimes I wonder how much extraordinary wooden architecture has been there before photography was invented.

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Much more than we’ll ever know. And that’s a loss for us IMHO.

See fossilissed wood found at some places, or rare remnants of poles.

Just think of the Scandinvian ‘Stav’ churches, descendants of earlier similar churches.

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Like, like, like, no, love this! ❤️

And like the wise would say, "it's complicated." LOL

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Thank you, Rene 💙🙏💫

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It is very sad the way they often tear down the unique and the beautiful to be replaced with the generic and the bland. Older buildings have character and a sense of wonder about them. They're full of history, seeping out of every part of them. But most of all, they're full of stories... 😎

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So true, Chris. In older buildings you can feel the soul of builders, people who lived and worked there.

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I liked the reference of old buildings, skyscrapers taking on skylines and does that mean the new is the winner? Intriguing parallels.

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Thank you, Pilgrim. It was more skyscapes (as opposite landscapes) than skyscrapers.

For me, but that’s my view, the old architecture was the real winner.

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Old, classic architecture us unbeatable.

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Absolutely true!

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The leavings of yesterday’s sacrificial sites are the foundations of tomorrow built upon history and that history remains, but found only in the sifting sieve of time with bits and pieces fit into a puzzle. Some pieces are missing carried away, erosion has the last say.

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Richard, yours are always the most poetic comments. Thank you 💙🙏💫

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Appreciate your reflections.❤️ It’s so true Joyce.

I’ve always thought that it was silly when people talk about ‘war crimes’. The same people would be held up as heroes had things taken a different turn.

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Yes, as I wrote, history is written by the victors, the winners. In a parallel universe it might just be the other side writing history.

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I struggle to know why most people don’t see this obvious truth.

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Perhaps because most people are sheeple. History books tells them ‘he’ is the good guy, and ‘the other one’ the bad.

We now know that history as in books, is cooked and stewed, ready to be had

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Indeed

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In many places, the historic buildings were replaced with cookie cutter condos and office towers. When these aethestically ugly buildings fall in disrepair, which will happen, I doubt anyone will mourn their loss. As you mentioned, Joyce, history provides the memory as much as the building's uniqueness.

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Well, I won’t mourn the loss of those ugly buildings. I love the old ones, the soul that they breathe, so to speak.

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“Do they speak English in what?”

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What exactly did you mean, Jim?

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Ask Jules from the film "Pulp Fiction."

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Haven’t seen that film so still don’t know.

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