NationStates Jolt Archive

Yes, I know you can't put a full representation of historical periods in one poll, but there is always the "other (please explain)" option. ;)

Me? I'd like to live during the Old (American) West. Fewer laws. Entreprenurial sprit was at an all time high. Justice was really justice (for the most part). Being independent and self-made (pulling yourself up by your bootstraps) was a virtue. We were still exploring the continent.

How about you?

Ancient Rome, i like old times.

Do the eighties count as a historical period? I'd love to have lived in the eighties.

Egyptian Dynasties, followed by Rome, and then The Dark Ages, so long as I'm immune from that pesky little plague.

Do the eighties count as a historical period? I'd love to have lived in the eighties.
I lived in the 80s...it wasn't all that great. The music was cool, though! :p

Egyptian Dynasties, followed by Rome, and then The Dark Ages, so long as I'm immune from that pesky little plague.
I'd like to have been an impartial observer from the future during the Egyptian Dynasties. The caste system was way too spread out for me to want to have lived then. I'd like to think I would have been one of the priests or scribes, but with my luck, I'd've been one of the Hebrew slaves. :headbang: :p

Northern Europe in the 12th-13th century. There was a flowering of culture & knowledge during a period of relative plenty, before the onset of the Black Death in approx 1347.

I'd like to try living every where and every time for some time - just to get a feel of things. But Roman Europe and Han China would be the most interesting...

I lived in the 80s...it wasn't all that great. The music was cool, though! :p

Yeah, it was. I'm only fifteen and I hate modern music. I prefer the stuff from the eighties. I see all of my peers listening to hip hop and modern punk, I just wish we could all live back in the eighties.

I’m going to have to agree with Texaspundistan. The old west definitely.
Oh, for a time when all justice required was a tree and some rope. :p

Yeah, it was. I'm only fifteen and I hate modern music. I prefer the stuff from the eighties. I see all of my peers listening to hip hop and modern punk, I just wish we could all live back in the eighties. I agree with you totally (I'm a 16-year-old old fart), but the Romantic era also had great music, such as Beethoven.

I'd have hated to live in Rome… at least in the first half of the thousand years… murderings aplenty and no trust, at least from what I've read. Now Ancient Greece, that would be a good place, as long as you're not one of the slaves who got repeatedly sodomised. :eek: I saw someone link that to modern public schools… WTF?

I agree with you totally (I'm a 16-year-old old fart), but the Romantic era also had great music, such as Beethoven.


I love classical too. I feel like a 35 year old trapped inside a 15 year old body.

I’m going to have to agree with Texaspundistan. The old west definitely.
Oh, for a time when all justice required was a tree and some rope. :p
Yep...and if someone robbed a bank or stole your cattle, you got a posse together, hunted the bastards down and dragged their bullet-riddled corpses back to town for public display. :D

I love classical too. I feel like a 35 year old trapped inside a 15 year old body. Well when I was 14, I got told I had a mental age of 40. :p

Texpundistan, you sound just like my friends with the whole rough-justice thing. :) Public punishment is good, though.

I'd like to have been an impartial observer from the future during the Egyptian Dynasties. The caste system was way too spread out for me to want to have lived then. I'd like to think I would have been one of the priests or scribes, but with my luck, I'd've been one of the Hebrew slaves. :headbang: :p

lol, contrary to popular belief, slaves got great treatment. A skull of a slave was found containing a hole in the top..the kind made in surgery to relieve painful pressure on the brain created by cancer. They've found veritable cities dedicated to just baking, others for the creation of beer, and other consumables and textiles for slaves working on pyramids. It's also been debated if they were even slaves in the first place. All in all, an interesting place to visit.

ohh, ancient greece! or, failing that, late victorian britain, mmmm. if all else failed, i guess i'd settle for the seventies. david bowie! rocky horror!

I'd live today, or in the near future, because I value my 150% longer life expectancy as compared to most other historical periods.

Texpundistan, you sound just like my friends with the whole rough-justice thing. :) Public punishment is good, though.
Well, it's not just "rough justice". Back then, a man's word was gold. If you went back on your word, you were nothing. Cowards were treated as cowards. You could do pretty much whatever you wanted as long as no one else got hurt. If you did something and hurt someone else (physically, financially, etc), you were punished.

To me, it was a simpler time with a more prevalent sense of honor. So, justice was simple and swift.

Well, it's not just "rough justice". Back then, a man's word was gold. If you went back on your word, you were nothing. Cowards were treated as cowards. You could do pretty much whatever you wanted as long as no one else got hurt. If you did something and hurt someone else (physically, financially, etc), you were punished.

To me, it was a simpler time with a more prevalent sense of honor. So, justice was simple and swift. That's why I wouldn't like to have lived in Ancient Rome. Much as they professed revulsion at patricide and suchlike, they really were not very honourable at all.

With Ancient Greece, you could take boys or girls, nobody cared!
[EDIT] I can't believe I just said that!

Well, it's not just "rough justice". Back then, a man's word was gold. If you went back on your word, you were nothing. Cowards were treated as cowards. You could do pretty much whatever you wanted as long as no one else got hurt. If you did something and hurt someone else (physically, financially, etc), you were punished.

To me, it was a simpler time with a more prevalent sense of honor. So, justice was simple and swift.

Honour??! In the Old West?!

You've been watching too many Westerns mate.

I point you to some lines from 'The old Gunfighter ballad':

"Noble was nothing except feeling no shame,
and nothing was sacred save staying alive,
and all that I learned from a Colt .45,
was to curse the smell of the blackpowder smoke,
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke."

The Old West was a dog-eat-dog world of savage 'power justice', not the banding together of a few good men that Hollywood depicts.

Honour??! In the Old West?!

You've been watching too many Westerns mate.

I point you to some lines from 'The old Gunfighter ballad':

"Noble was nothing except feeling no shame,
and nothing was sacred save staying alive,
and all that I learned from a Colt .45,
was to curse the smell of the blackpowder smoke,
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke."

The Old West was a dog-eat-dog world of savage 'power justice', not the banding together of a few good men that Hollywood depicts.
No. I used to read a ton of history on the Old West. To a certain extent, yes, it was savage....savage and simple. I like that.

But, if you want to chastise me and say I've been watching movies while you quote song lyrics to make your point.............. go right ahead. ;)

With that said...it's 3:40am and I need a couple hours sleep. I'll be back later to check up on this thread. :p

No. I used to read a ton of history on the Old West. To a certain extent, yes, it was savage....savage and simple. I like that.

But, if you want to chastise me and say I've been watching movies while you quote song lyrics to make your point.............. go right ahead. ;)

With that said...it's 3:40am and I need a couple hours sleep. I'll be back later to check up on this thread. :p

Well I could have looked up some some weighty quotes from various famous authorities, but anything they said wouldn't rhyme...

I'd like to live now because if my chances of having a decent standard of living are higher now than at any time in the past. Although some people debate whether modern people are happier than early hunter/gatherers, I would say that we are and that we have a much longer average lifespan to be happy in.

Of course, if I could travel back in time and take advantage of what I know now, that would be interesting.

I would've liked to be born in about 1895. It was a great time for Germany. World Leader in so many things, there was a great spirit of hope (and a lot of national pride, i would like to know what that's like).
And then came the war...hmmm, I'm not sure whether I would've liked to fight, but I guess at the time you didn't think about it much.
Hmmm, that time had its good bits and its bad bits I guess.

No. I used to read a ton of history on the Old West. To a certain extent, yes, it was savage....savage and simple. I like that.


Then you would have loved living under Saddam Hussein.

During the Heptarchy. As a king. I'd stop the conversion to christianity.

Alternatively, as one of the aristocracy in the mid Victorian Era.

I personally would have liked to see tzarist Russia. At any time really...

Can I bring a rifle?

I voted pre history, mainly caus I mis read the question and was thinking of if i went to any time period in history now, thats where i would go. Think about it, no worries about taxes, persecution, world war, pollution bla bla bla. Build a nice little settlement somewhere, hunt your own food etc would be soooo good.

If it was more getting born into a time period and growing up then, I would say post-WW2 america would be pretty good (lots of oil, economic boom etc) although the late Middle Ages would be cool (a nice mid level aristocratic family thank you :D ).

I voted pre history, mainly caus I mis read the question and was thinking of if i went to any time period in history now, thats where i would go. Think about it, no worries about taxes, persecution, world war, pollution bla bla bla. Build a nice little settlement somewhere, hunt your own food etc would be soooo good.

If it was more getting born into a time period and growing up then, I would say post-WW2 america would be pretty good (lots of oil, economic boom etc) although the late Middle Ages would be cool (a nice mid level aristocratic family thank you :D ).


a] You get persecuted by lions and suchlike.

b] Due to probability, you'd probably be ending up as a peasant/villein, not the best thing to be. Maybe even a gong farmer if you're really unlucky. Maybe Czardas needs to go into the Middle Ages for a while, learn what it's like to be the downtrodden. :p

a] You get persecuted by lions and suchlike.

b] Due to probability, you'd probably be ending up as a peasant/villein, not the best thing to be. Maybe even a gong farmer if you're really unlucky. Maybe Czardas needs to go into the Middle Ages for a while, learn what it's like to be the downtrodden. :p

A) Not if I have a rather larger stick with a damn sharp stone on the end of it. I did say that was only if I had a time machine to go back with, so I would take some stuff back with me :) Like a very large rifle....preferably the one out of Jurassic Park 3...

B) Well if i go back in my family history I wouldn't be that badly off, we got my family tree back (only on a couple of banches) back to the early 1600s, One of them was a resonably well mercheant family, for a while anyways, and the other was Cromwells family ( :eek: bugger...it makes it all the more wierd that in recent generations I have Irish in me as well...you think the bad blood between the two would refuse to mix lol).

1920s - 1930s
1: the cars
2: the music (jazz)
3: the hats
4: golf

Europe during the Belle Epoque, hangin around with great artists, goin to cabarets, Art Nouveau, absinthe, smokin Hookahs, it would be the best.

Europe during the Belle Epoque, hangin around with great artists, goin to cabarets, Art Nouveau, absinthe, smokin Hookahs, it would be the best.

I lead a life very similar to what you describe and I don't have to travel back in time to do it.

Then you would have loved living under Saddam Hussein.Um...no. :headbang:

Actually, Kellarly pretty much hit the nail on the head on why I chose the Old West, except he chose Prehistory.
I voted pre history, mainly caus I mis read the question and was thinking of if i went to any time period in history now, thats where i would go. Think about it, no worries about taxes, persecution, world war, pollution bla bla bla. Build a nice little settlement somewhere, hunt your own food etc would be soooo good.The Old West was a "wild" time a lot like Prehistory, except with better technology. ;)

The World Wars. They had electricity and plumbing and stuff pretty well developed by then. I'm all for that. The other eras are tempting, but I know they wouldn't exactly be as cool as in the movies. No toilet paper, for one thing. And you can forget clean underwear.

Being a woman in any other time in history would totally suck. As would being anyone not well placed in the power structure. Can you imagine being a peasant in the dark ages? Eek!
I would not want to live in a time when I was considered property.

In the future on Mars, after it is terraformed.

Screw Earth :p .

Ancient Rome. As a Foreign Visitor/Merchant. I could make a piss-load of money and buy citizenship if I wanted to. That and the Baths.

Being a woman in any other time in history would totally suck. As would being anyone not well placed in the power structure. Can you imagine being a peasant in the dark ages? Eek!
I would not want to live in a time when I was considered property.
Then pick a Celtic society.

Then pick a Celtic society.Though it wasn't as equal as some people think, it's better than most ancient societies. So was ancient Egypt. But I'd still miss AC and TP.
And with my luck I'd still end up as a peon.

I would live in The Old (American) West for the many political conflicts and wars ended up in peace treatys. People discussed on the problems between people and friends.

Now thats a period I would live in! :D

Um...no. :headbang:

Actually, Kellarly pretty much hit the nail on the head on why I chose the Old West, except he chose Prehistory.
The Old West was a "wild" time a lot like Prehistory, except with better technology. ;)

So the wild west was like prehistory except that people like you wore clothes, rode horses, owned slaves, killed natives, stole land from the Mexicans, built railroads, gambled, shot each other and slept with their cousins. :D

Oh and as far as Kellarly is concerned... have fun wiping your ass. :eek:

Rome. That was like, the golden age. They were civilized and were geniuses and were starting to comprhend thins around them.

No question, now or the recent past. While the other periods of history may have indidivual advantages, I like running water, electricity upon demand, more than one set of clothes, easily availible healthy food, and so on too much for the past beyond the 1970s to hold much attraction for me. Someone with all the wealth in the ancient Greek world could not have had either air-conditioning or good reading light after sunset in the ancient Greek world.

Though it wasn't as equal as some people think, it's better than most ancient societies. So was ancient Egypt. But I'd still miss AC and TP.
And with my luck I'd still end up as a peon.
Oh, I know you wouldn't have been 'equal' but you would have been a lot better off than many other places.
Rome. That was like, the golden age. They were civilized and were geniuses and were starting to comprhend thins around them.
Read up on the Games. Not the sickeningly sanitised version promoted by most popular media, but the real thing.

Also in Roman society Roman women were treated like dirt, most considered them to be worth less than slaves. Baby girls were often left out on hillsides to die (which led to a shortage of noblewomen and noblemen could only marry noblewomen, so they started passing wives around) and they would beat the faces of babies to 'toughen' them up and make them look less baby-like. :mad:
<snip>Someone with all the wealth in the ancient Greek world could not have had either air-conditioning
Three words: slaves with fans.
or good reading light after sunset in the ancient Greek world.
Make the slaves read by candle light.

Materially, I am better off than the richest Roman Emperor.

In terms of the power of life and death over over people, I have very little compared to a Roman Emperor.

But then, I can always play a computer game.

My way of life is better!

I might have preferred the Napoleonic Period or the Colonial Revolt period, as a Prussian Hussar prince

Three words: slaves with fans.

Make the slaves read by candle light.First, not the same as air-conditioning and less effective. One could theoretically also import ice from the mountains and cool oneself that way, but it would be most unreliable. Second, being read to is not the same as reading and is considerably slower for many of us, it is a good workarround but just isn't the same as good reading light and a good book.

I personally would have liked to see tzarist Russia. At any time really...
As for me, I'd liked to see the Russian Empire at the end of the Nineteenth Century. And the Great Britain too.

I would probably most have wanted to live in the 60's and 70's as this was the height of socialism in Europe and around the world. In Britain there was much greater public ownership of the economy, society was at its most equal and far less people lived in poverty than they do now. In the USSR the horrors of Stalinism were over and it really looked like they could overtake the west economically and in the living standards of their people. Across the developing world many nations were implemeting socialist policies which were considerably improving the lives of the majority of their population.

I'd like to live now because if my chances of having a decent standard of living are higher now than at any time in the past. Although some people debate whether modern people are happier than early hunter/gatherers, I would say that we are and that we have a much longer average lifespan to be happy in.

but assuming that we can rule out 'now or the extremely recent past in the wealthiest societies in the world' as a real option, i'd take any hunting and gathering society at any time that wasn't being threatened by some overpopulated pack of idiot farmers. you get to live longer and better than anybody up until the invention of modern medicine, and you get to work fewer hours than everybody but the idle rich do even now. rockin'.

on what grounds would you argue that people living in modern civilization are happier on average than people living in forager cultures? we're overworked, don't get enough sleep, are typically relatively socially isolated, and more often than not are passive consumers of culture rather than active participants.

I can't answer this with just one answer.

There are so many historical eras I'd love to have lived in.
Ancient Egypt
Pre historic times-to see what happened to the dinosaurs
The 15th century(but with shots against the plague)
13TH-14TH Centuries in the Americas..all those civilisations
Ancient Rome-before the regin of Constantine.

Does anybody know where I can buy a good time machine? I've tried on ebay to no avail!

on what grounds would you argue that people living in modern civilization are happier on average than people living in forager cultures? we're overworked, don't get enough sleep, are typically relatively socially isolated, and more often than not are passive consumers of culture rather than active participants.
Y'know. I've never agreed with you on ANYthing on these forums...until now. :eek:

I lived in the 80s...it wasn't all that great. The music was cool, though! :p

NO!! thatcher was prime minister in the 80's, so it was that great.

Whoah, dude, you forgot, like, the 60ies and 70ies, man! Those times must have been groovy :p

Ancient Greece

Or Japan in the time of the Samurai

Y'know. I've never agreed with you on ANYthing on these forums...until now. :eek:

shocking, isn't it?

i know how to fix this. the reason i like hunter gatherer cultures is the whole primitive communism thing. so there - back to disagreeing about everything.

Prehistory so I can create my own civilization with elements and inventions ripped off from all the civilizations I like, into the ultimate civilization. Now that would be awesome.

19th Century Britain - the height of the most glorious Empire the world has ever seen, a period where even the most poverty stricken lived in an environment of (theoretically) mutual respect and strong morality. Idealised? Yes, but then examining our period of history in any detail quickely leads to the dissolution of certain ideals... democracy for instance.

Failing that - Wales, fifty years after the Roman departure when a certain warlord ruled the princedom of Glamorgan - a warlord of whom I'm a direct descendant. All the benefits of trade with the Romans (like baths) and all the benefits of welsh culture (poetry, legends and soap).

Germany in the later 1800's,mostly because the now meaningless titles I hold would have come with lots of money, land and power. Otherwise, right now seems to be a better time to live than at any other point in history.

shocking, isn't it?

i know how to fix this. the reason i like hunter gatherer cultures is the whole primitive communism thing. so there - back to disagreeing about everything.
*pelts you with cyanide laced cookies*

You just HAD to go and screw it up, didn't ya?!?

:p

japan during world war 2

(if i could bring a modern anti air installation that is, no american nukes or air bombardments for me)

The 60's, or possibly some kind of utopian future.

Prehistory so I can create my own civilization with elements and inventions ripped off from all the civilizations I like, into the ultimate civilization. Now that would be awesome.

but until you have the infrastructure for modern medicine and waste disposal, all civilization is pretty much an unmitigated disaster of human suffering. and it smells really bad. if you go back to prehistory, why bother fucking it up?

Gentleman of independant means During the early C18th bumming round bit of natural philosophy on the side, very nice :cool:

Bibical times. But only if I was able to return to the present. I have always wondered if the miricles portrayed in the bible really hapened(not that I dont belive they hapened). My mind would be a lot more restfull if I knew. :mp5: