Poll - Reenact or Enact?

[Danny]

It seems many here not only reenact a period attitude but enact the same attitude in their daily modern lives.

Those who have been shut down for being too frank in discussing certain CW politics or personalities can relate.

To what extent has each of us taken on a period attitude?*

- Dan Wykes

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

Please elaborate on,

...sympathize with Confederate cause today

What does this mean?

[HOG.EYE.MAN]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

Can you add "other" in your poll option?

[paulcalloway]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

Can you add "other" in your poll option?

I'm not sure that other even quite gets it done. I think we need an option for "huh?"

[Danny]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

"Period attitude" is a nebulous term. Please elaborate.

Paul Calloway

Paul -

Fair enough. Period attitude is that attitude that a soldier at that time would have. Can an honest impression exclude the portrayal of one of the documented attitudes of the period?

- Dan Wykes

Looks like there may be some problem in getting the clickable poll to work, but that's okay, I couldn't check any of them. How about "reenact any of the numerous Union or Confederate viewpoints, but haven't bothered to decide whether either side was, overall, justified."

Other than the fact that I believe unequivocably that slavery was/is morally wrong, and that compromise would have been better if lives could have been saved and suffering minimized, there's no way I can pass judgment on who should have done what, from the comfort of 145 years of hindsight. They were there, they did what they did, and I'm more interested in understanding them than passing judgment on them.

Hank Trent

Hank -

How can you possibly have a believable impression of someone who had no particular attitude for something that changed one's life so significantly at the time? As for your attitude today - are you saying that you don't know who was right? or that you know who was right but won't second-guess or pass judgement?

Dan Wykes

[Danny]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

Please elaborate on,


What does this mean?

John -

It just means that there are many reenactors who sympathize with the Confederate cause in their field impression. Who here hasn't heard the speech given to spectators? The kids don't understand it as a portrayal though, and I'm not sure anymore it is myself - hence the poll.

Hope that clarifies.

- Dan Wykes

[paulcalloway]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

John -

It just means that there are many reenactors who sympathize with the Confederate cause in their field impression. Who here hasn't heard the speech given to spectators? The kids don't understand it as a portrayal though, and I'm not sure anymore it is myself - hence the poll.

Hope that clarifies.

- Dan Wykes

Hold up - when was the last time you saw that or heard that at an EBUFU event? More importantly, have you been to an EBUFU event?

[Hank Trent]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

How can you possibly have a believable impression of someone who had no particular attitude for something that changed one's life so significantly at the time?

I don't believe you read my statement correctly. I didn't say I portray a person who had no attitude. On the contrary, I said I've portrayed all the various period attitudes (not all at once, of course). Everything from a rabid Massachusetts abolitionist who worshipped John Brown, to an Alabama overseer who was happy to describe how best to whip slaves, to southerners and northerners and midwesterners who each saw the key issues of the war from many different directions. I've argued for union, for disunion, for reconciliation, for fighting to the death, for desertion.

As for your attitude today - are you saying that you don't know who was right? or that you know who was right but won't second-guess or pass judgement?

I'm saying just what I did. I believe that slavery is morally wrong and, to clarify, I think it's within a government's proper powers to outlaw it, while doing the least harm to its citizens. However, I also believe that civil disobedience is justifiable to overcome an oppressive government, if one is willing to suffer the consequences.

The right and wrong, of course, hinge on what's "least," what's "oppressive," etc.

In my opinion, to say that someone was "wrong" means you think they should have done something else to be right. And that gets into speculation. If I say, one side should have compromised to save lives. Okay, how? If they'd tried A, the other side might have reacted with B, and then the other side could have done C, and we're off into fantasy speculation land, and maybe the "right" thing would have caused more suffering in the long run.

In the United States, at least, the specific issues of the war are so moot today that it's impossible to take a side in modern life. It's like asking, which would you prefer, a Model T or a Stanley Steamer? Uh, I really don't know and I really don't care and I could live my whole life without needing to give an answer. :)

If a block of states starts seriously demanding to secede over some current hot issue or Congress starts introducing bills to re-legalize slavery, then, knowing the modern specifics, I can tell you who I think is right, who I think is wrong, and what action I'll be taking based on that in real life.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Danny]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

Hold up - when was the last time you saw that or heard that at an EBUFU event? More importantly, have you been to an EBUFU event?

Paul -

You got me there. As you know there aren't that many spectators at an EBUFU event, so of course I was referring to the hobby in general. I aspire to attend an EBUFU event - I believe in the intent and understand the benefit, and it's encouraging that you haven't encountered that of which I speak. That for me is an incentive to move away from mainstream where we hear plenty of that.

- Dan Wykes

p.s. I'll assume your "Huh" means you cannot honestly put yourself in any of the six categories. The only category left to add, the "Other" would have to be something like "I don't reenact any attitude and don't have an attitude today either" but who would own up to that?

[Jim of The SRR]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

The other option would be:
"I reenact what the impression calls for."

I read about what the event impression calls for, do my research and then reenact it accordingly. What my personal opinion is really doesn't matter.

Jim Butler

[Justin Runyon]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

I think the "huh" means that most of us really dont know where you are going with this. If I'm doing first person interpretation at an event of some kind, Im portraying the attitudes of the "Character" that I have developed for that specific instance.

In my modern day life, I'm an historian, and use a the tools of that trade to draw conclusions about the past. I have no dog in the Civil War fight...I was'nt there and don't know anyone who was.

[Danny]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

The other option would be:
"I reenact what the impression calls for."
...Jim Butler

Jim -

That is a good call. I think Hank, Justin and Paul were trying to point out that same missing category, and I was too thick to get it. But I get it now.

- Dan Wykes

[Csayankee]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

I think Justin hit it on the head. My attitude is that of the character I made for the event. I honestly don't think you can look at someone's photo and know what there everyday attitude is. I reenact both Union and Confederate, I don't try to take the issues of yesterday and bring them into my modern life. I am not talking about discussion of the period politics.

In my mind if you adopt the period politics in your modern life, you get the comments from several - - - - - - Hey the War is over let it go, or my other favorite... No matter how much you try you still loss that battle, etc.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

It just means that there are many reenactors who sympathize with the Confederate cause in their field impression. Who here hasn't heard the speech given to spectators? The kids don't understand it as a portrayal though, and I'm not sure anymore it is myself - hence the poll.

In my field impression(s):
I do my best to generate my impression (physical and otherwise) based on the event scenario and my role within that scenario. I don't "do Confederate" or "do Federal"... What I do do (yeah, you read that right) is "the scenario", regardless of event.

My concern regarding this poll/thread is the "sympathize with the Confederate cause" thing. "The Cause" was what, exactly? Many would say that the "Cause" of the Confederacy was a slave-based economy and a "particular" social order. I have no desire to associate with those who support that "cause".

The reason for my request for clarification was to find out if that was where you were going with this thread. I don't know you personally, so I thought clarification was in order. (This is an imperfect medium for communication, as we should all know by now)

I thought Justin put it quite well: I wasn't around during the war, nor do I know anyone who was. History has settled the debate... Thank God!

[Danny]

Re: Poll - Reenact or Enact?

...In my modern day life, I'm an historian, and use a the tools of that trade to draw conclusions about the past. I have no dog in the Civil War fight...I was'nt there and don't know anyone who was.

Justin -

Appreciate the thought, and totally appreciate that you "have no dog in the fight" but respectfully there are some here, not a few, even a moderator or two, who do apparently "have a dog in the fight"

There is already an interesting trend in the poll, don't you think?

- Dan Wykes