Who would I like to see blog from history?

Lorelle posted a new blog challenge, and the challenge is this: who would you like to see blog from history?

Some of the answers that Lorelle proposed were:

Irving Stone, Issac Asimov, Tolkien, Mark Twain, and Agatha Christie? Or philosophers and scientists like Plato, Socrates, Newton, and Einstein? Famous kings, presidents, rulers?

I have to admit - these answers don’t excite me much. The benefit of having access to a blog written by someone from the past would be that we would gain access to their thoughts and ideas, right? If that’s the case, why would you want to have access to a blog written by someone who is already widely published? From someone who is already known throughout the world? Granted, not all famous kings, presidents, and rulers have left written records of their thoughts (although many have); but Tolkien? Plato? Twain? We know many of the thoughts of these people - it’s why they’re famous! None of them wrote blogs per se, but quite a few of them published copious amounts of material. And, while I can’t speak for the rest of them, there is indeed a “blog” of sorts by Tolkien: the Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. The vast majority of the letters in it would not seem strange at all as blog posts. I realize that it’s not exactly a blog, but I think it’s close enough to make the comparison.

I am, of course, not saying that I wouldn’t enjoy reading blogs written by already famous people. I think having blogs from leaders throughout history would be fascinating. I’d pay a pretty penny to read blogs by various kings throughout the medieval age, not to mention a few key leaders during the 20th century. I think a blog written by FDR would be interesting, and one written by Hitler useful, simply to see just exactly what he was thinking as the war went on. It’s clear that the gears upstairs started breaking down as things progressed.

I think, however, what would be more interesting to read, would be blogs written by people who have been swallowed up by the  proverbial ocean of time. Blogs written by people who might have had important or intriguing things to say, but never had the chance. People who took part in great projects, but never were able to leave their opinion on it. People that we don’t know a great deal about.

Take, for example, one of the thousands of Egyptians who helped build the pyramids. What was it like? How many hours per day did they work? Were they paid? Did they enjoy the work, or hate it? What was their home life like after they’d finished spending a day moving enormously heavy blocks of stone?

Or how about some nameless peasant during the middle ages? Wouldn’t it be interesting to get his take on his village? His country? The world (as he knew it)? Or how about one of the countless men in the medieval hierarchy, but not at the top of it (i.e., a king or the Pope)? Say, a knight, halfway up the totem pole? Or, you could even seek out a military view. Blogs written by men and women in the military are pretty normal today, and provide a look at things from their point of view. Wouldn’t it be interesting to read a blog written by some English fellow serving as a longbow-man in a king’s army?

I personally think that those blogs would be more interesting than a blog written by someone the world already knows about, because those blogs would provide new information and new views. We have plenty of examples of the view from the position of a king or President, of a great writer or a famous thinker. It would be nice to be able to jump back in history and get a detailed view, complete with opinions, ideas and emotions, from someone who wasn’t at the top of the ladder. The “average Joe” of an ancient society.

So, in answer to Lorelle’s question: I want to see a blog written not by someone we know about, but someone we know nothing about. The man or woman who lived their life and died without leaving so much as a note saying, “Hey, this was my name”, let alone a journal, a book, a piece of art. I think that would be far more useful and interesting than a blog written by someone that we already have heaps of information on.