Modern Medieval Times

A trip to Medieval Times Restaurant and Tournament recently brought back to my attention a bittersweet fact of human nature. How much we enjoy violence, destruction and mayhem. I believe it's the simple barbaric forms of warlike entertainment with the clashing of swords and clanging of shields that we as whole enjoy the most. The fights with fury, grit, determination and heroism and fights which mean something in the eyes of the combatants and in the eyes of their supporters. Pretending to be a spectator in a time of knights, kings, and horses and the show of strength, skill and loyalty given in a moments breath is refreshing in it's completeness and finality.

The whole experience of Medieval Times affected me differently at different moments since we arrived at the gates. First, the feeling of anticipation, mainly because I hate waiting in a line of people, I pretty much knew what to expect from all I've heard and seen. I also felt like a cow being led to the trough once we finally entered the castle, though that feeling ended when I finally got to move around freely among the guards and other Lords and Ladies. At this point, I felt like a prisoner to consumerism. Everyone was selling something in the middle of the waiting room and at each end, a Bar, which I felt obligated to enjoy. Finally, after about an hour of waiting and biting my tongue for sustenance, they formed us into lines and ordered us through to the feeding and tournament arena. Once seated and the wench came, I knew I was ready to eat. This is when I was beginning to feel enjoyment and began to try to imagine how times would have been way back when, without the lights, fake fog and cushy seats. I enjoyed imagining how times could have been; the religions, the beliefs of the people, the mysticism, the power and the battles for life, liberty, love and wealth. I also enjoyed the food and tournament, but couldn't help but think about how our lives have turned out in the last thousands of years and what we could learn from the Medieval times, the times before and the times that followed.

I find it interesting in the times that we live now, to think about how people lived and fought in medieval times and evaluate the similarities and differences which are all too obvious. Does the fact that we've always battled make it right to continue to wage wars for money, beliefs or for the love of it? Does death mean nothing to those who rule, or is it just a part of the natural order? Will we ever be able to stand back and look at ourselves for what we truly are? Can we change our nature, or at least know when our natural instincts become unnatural, such as with the slaughtering of thousands upon thousands of innocents without honor or respect? To kill without anymore then a push of a button is no more natural or indicative of humans then the cloning of sheep. So why do we do it everyday? It makes very little sense to die a senseless, unjust, meaningless death. The fact that it happens day after day doesn't make it right and yet we acknowledge the death and do nothing about it. When will we be able to realize we haven't learned anything new, but only advanced in the areas of technology, healthcare, and business? Would we be better off without these advancements? Will it take losing what we have to realize that we must seriously make life altering changes to make our lives truly better, are we really happier now then we would have been thousands of years ago? And how should we measure life? I don’t know, but I’m guessing we should not measure it in gold, oil, technological, business or healthcare advancements.