This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/travel/independence-day-archival-photos.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| A Nostalgic Look at Independence Days of Yesteryear | |
| (1 day later) | |
| Thumbing through old photographs is a reliable way of evoking nostalgia. And these black-and-white Independence Day photographs, pulled from The New York Times’s archive, offer a potent dose. | |
| We see holiday crowds, marches, amusement parks, parades. We see friends and families at the beach and in their backyards. We see communal joy. We see the Twin Towers, whose lofty height competes with that of the sky-high fireworks. We see a pre-9/11 world where low-level flybys near Manhattan don’t trigger citywide anxiety. | We see holiday crowds, marches, amusement parks, parades. We see friends and families at the beach and in their backyards. We see communal joy. We see the Twin Towers, whose lofty height competes with that of the sky-high fireworks. We see a pre-9/11 world where low-level flybys near Manhattan don’t trigger citywide anxiety. |
| But today, in the grip of a pandemic, there’s another dimension to the nostalgia that’s evoked while viewing these photographs. | But today, in the grip of a pandemic, there’s another dimension to the nostalgia that’s evoked while viewing these photographs. |
| It’s evident in the casual human contact, the close quarters, the lack of social distance. | It’s evident in the casual human contact, the close quarters, the lack of social distance. |
| You’ll find it in the appearances of hands held against bare faces, the unconscious proximity of strangers, the joy of visible smiles. You’ll find it in the apparent freedom of movement. You’ll find it in the relaxed posture of people who aren’t accustomed to — or interested in — keeping their distance. | You’ll find it in the appearances of hands held against bare faces, the unconscious proximity of strangers, the joy of visible smiles. You’ll find it in the apparent freedom of movement. You’ll find it in the relaxed posture of people who aren’t accustomed to — or interested in — keeping their distance. |
| Nostalgia, of course, is a corruptible phenomenon. It is, in the words of one historian, “history without guilt.” | Nostalgia, of course, is a corruptible phenomenon. It is, in the words of one historian, “history without guilt.” |
| And nostalgia sells. It sells automobiles and hamburgers and video games. It can buy and sell elections. | And nostalgia sells. It sells automobiles and hamburgers and video games. It can buy and sell elections. |
| But this newfound element of our national nostalgia — our longing for the pre-pandemic past — seems different somehow. It’s born from a collective sense of insularity. It’s born from a death toll that has now surpassed 127,000. It’s born from our shared sense of susceptibility. | But this newfound element of our national nostalgia — our longing for the pre-pandemic past — seems different somehow. It’s born from a collective sense of insularity. It’s born from a death toll that has now surpassed 127,000. It’s born from our shared sense of susceptibility. |
| Patriotism and nostalgia are inextricably linked. Perhaps that’s what makes these photographs so compelling: the juxtaposition of archival expressions of American pride with our contemporary reality — when, from a global perspective, the concept of American exceptionalism is being challenged on multiple fronts. | Patriotism and nostalgia are inextricably linked. Perhaps that’s what makes these photographs so compelling: the juxtaposition of archival expressions of American pride with our contemporary reality — when, from a global perspective, the concept of American exceptionalism is being challenged on multiple fronts. |
| In the face of great loss, our celebrations persist. Some Americans have even begun to travel again. | In the face of great loss, our celebrations persist. Some Americans have even begun to travel again. |
| But in a year when Easter, Eid and Memorial Day have largely been celebrated without communal gatherings, Independence Day will be another holiday that many of us spend away from our families and friends — another shared tradition deferred to the future, and relegated, for now, to the past. | But in a year when Easter, Eid and Memorial Day have largely been celebrated without communal gatherings, Independence Day will be another holiday that many of us spend away from our families and friends — another shared tradition deferred to the future, and relegated, for now, to the past. |