I have a question for you

I have a question for you.

Are you “A person of your time?”

Please, think about it and answer the question before you read on.

Done?

Okay, let me explain why I ask.

You may have heard the expression “He was a man of his time“.

It is a term often used by television presenters when documenting the life of a ‘great’.

That ‘great’ may have been a scientific maverick, one whose outlandish theories were eventually proven correct, or maybe a pioneer of engineering, an extravagant poet or playwright, possibly an author pushing the boundaries of what, was then, considered acceptable.

Occasionally, I have known the term to be used as an excuse, a justification for historical wrongdoings. I have even heard it used as an attempted explanation to justify, to absolve and exonerate, the evil doings of individuals, of military and political leaders, by suggesting that they were merely products of the era they lived in.

Their acts, now consigned to history, were those of “Men of their time”.

Lately, this term has been used in the media to describe many people, from outstanding athletes through to dangerous criminals, and even those associated with acts of terror.

I have, on few occasions, come across this phrase in movies, when its inclusion has been in context of the story, usually during a moving and emotional scene.

It is then, when you understand it is a term which has relevance beyond the infamous and the renowned, when you appreciate it can be applied to the individual, the sole person, from all and any walk of life, that the true potency of its meaning begins to grow within your own comprehension.

Do we do, do we act, understand and comprehend, solely from the position of being of our time, or are we greater than that?

Can we be anything more?

So, I ask you once again, “Are you a person of your time?”

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Have you read ‘Ramblings from a Writers Mind‘ my blog for authors and writers?