Selling History to Rick Harrison

We've all heard "Money makes the world go round"; but do we actually believe it? I love the TV show, Pawn Stars, which if you've seen it, the objects brought in are amazing! Recently, I've seen a 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers signed by Sandy Koufax and other all-time great baseball players. I saw a Russian medal valued close to $40,000 recently bought for $6000 dollars. So, my common thread is this: What determines the amount of money paid for something? Pawn Stars is a perfect example; history is still worth the price. 

At first, I had a certain view on the practice of selling the past. Why should we sell our past for a few dollars? Attached are two videos. The first video shows the old introduction to the show, followed by the current introduction. I think it is interesting to hear the words in both videos. What changed in terms of priority? The second video shows a daughter selling her father's World War II memorabilia. Part of me believes that selling family treasures like that is pretty telling of how much we care about our nation's past. But why does this matter? How many children, or adults for that matter, would know about antiques if historical objects weren't sold? Kids would read about historic events in a textbook, but would they be remembered? Rather than selling the past, the practice of antique dealing shows just how much we care about the past. We talk about moving forward, but the way I see it, we still want to remain in the past. We give thousands upon thousands of dollars for some items. Why? Because it is the story of us. Those events are the reason that we are here today! 

My great-grandfather was in Skunk Works for Lockheed Martin from World War II through the Cold War. He was business partners with the top engineer, Kelly Johnson. Together, they designed some of the greatest airplanes ever made, including the SR-71 Blackbird, P-38 Lightning, and U-2 Bomber. Unlike anyone else in the world, my family has pictures and sketches signed to my grandfather from Kelly Johnson. Being who he was, Johnson's signature on original blueprints or plans is worth serious money. But, there is absolutely no way that I would sell that history for anything! My great-grandfather would be rolling in his grave! Just because I won't sell the pictures doesn't mean that I won't talk about them. The reason people pay so much money isn't because of time passing, but rather, what it means to them. Believe me, if I could sell a 300 year old piece of wood for thousands of dollars, I would do it in a heartbeat! History still lives because it matters to each person, regardless of age, background, economic status, etc.. Not only do we need to remember history; we need to embrace it. The best way to move forward is to remember the past. History repeats itself now more than ever.