No Nationalist Consistency Here!

Odessa, Ukraine

What drives me crazy besides fast Lada drivers in the city is an idea that is popular, but not well supported by things we see everyday. It has been a tendency in the 20th century to write histories of regions as if a group of people built, in isolation, their own region and can be proud of their heritage - There are textbooks on these kinds of themes - a History of the American People (who?), a History of the Canadian Economy, An Economic History of Russia, a People's History of the USA (I think this is the exception - it is people first, in a region second by Howard Zinn). True, history books have to focus, but it cannot be the case that Canadian history started on a certain day, in isolation, and that "Canadians" built the country. World History is far more complicated.

I took this picture in Odessa on purpose. When I saw it I thought : Here is clear evidence of why I have so many problems with my original views in studying Economic History - and of Canada, for that matter. In the picture is a Lada - a Soviet Automobile. It is largely based on I think Fiat. The pillars smack of Ancient Greece as does the color. The lampposts suggest some sort of classical 1800s style - before there were any clear cut nation -states in the 20th century sense, and in the background, upper right hand side, it is barely visible, but there is a blue sign on the wall. It is not in English, Russian, or Ukrainian but some other language that looks rather Arabic but it is not - I do not know what it is.

The bulbs in the lampost might have been made in the USSR or elsewhere, but they would not have been possible without the collective history of many thoughts and inventions from a wide variety of regions in the world. Add to this mix that I took the picture with a Japanese camera, German film, and it was developed by a Russian speaking Ukrainian. Whatever one might think of the USSR and its ideology as a whole, the idea of a non-nationalist freindship between people seems to me to make sense and be in evidence everywhere I look, with or without my camera.