History Repeats:

I have always found history intriguing. And as a teenager of the 90's, I experienced a decade full of news stories. At that time though, I didn't completely understand the full context aside from the headline. And honestly I probably had "better things to do" than to completely understand those current events. But as an adult, the events (now history) of the 1990s is something that I'm fascinated with. As pictured, the Siege of Waco and the Branch Davidians is one such event that I study.

Here recently, I have been going back through some of the resources I still have from that timeframe, because I wanted to research what was written about such events at that time. Now that 30ish+ years have passed between now and then, a plethora of documentaries, anniversary stories, and documents have since been released. But recently I've been more interested in the information documented closer to the event, and how that information has transformed and evolved as time has passed. Additionally, information on the internet is dynamic and updates frequently, whereas past resources remain static.

With that said, I've been enjoying the research of the topics which intrigue me with multiple versions of 90's technology such as Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, Microsoft Encarta, and Encyclopedia Britannica. (The screenshot attached to this post is from Encarta '99) Not only is it interesting to see from the vantage point of 1999, but much to my surprise, a fair number of links and resources still function today. One such link is an early documentary from 1995 on PBS/Frontline, which is still available to view: Waco: The Inside Story. I thought I had seen all of the Waco documentaries and docuseries at this point, but I had not seen this one. And it provided a much different perspective as it was released just two years after the event.

With “promoted” search results, and now AI search summaries, we are quickly losing the skill to research and formulate conclusions using multiple sources and reference points. Personally, I still prefer using the “old school” publications and media... in conjunction with the technology of today. And just like my recent inquiry, I tend to find things that aren't at the top of the search results today and would ordinarily be missed otherwise. In my opinion, there is still something to be said for physical media, and the information which is locked inside, which isn't necessarily found by using today's technology.



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#90s #history #millennial #news