Oedipus The King Informative Speech

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” –George Santayana. This quote was carved into the top of the time capsule I discovered. My ancestor’s name was not placed within the capsule, so I will refer to him as King, since that is our last name. He believed history was a vital source of history that we all could learn from. Personally, history has been a rather boring subject, so I do not understand the importance King seems to have placed on it. None the less, life from 500 years ago does seem to be a mildly interesting topic since it is coming directly from someone who lived way back then. This essay will explore what my ancestor put into this time capsule, what he believed we should know, and what items best represent

him.
First, King placed a multitude of objects he considered historically important within this capsule.

To start, the first of the objects I discovered was a copy of the United States Constitution. His entire nation was founded on the principals put into place by this document. Therefore, the historical significance of this item could not be stressed enough. Next, the second item I unearthed appears to be a timeline of important historical events that occurred during King’s life time. For example, it mentions the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Russian invasion of the Crimean peninsula. These events appear to have had a major impact on the societies of that time period. Thus, he deemed them important enough to include in the time capsule. Immediately, I discovered the next item which is an album of pictures detailing different sites around the world. As an example, it holds a picture of the Grand River back when it was called the Grand Canyon. It is remarkable how much the melting of the glaciers changed history. These fascinating pictures will give us a new perspective on the world in the past. In conclusion, all of these items appear to have significant historical

value.
Second, learning about the world of 500 years ago was an important aspect of King creating this time capsule.

Firstly, the time line provided much insight into the happening of the old world. Specifically, it mentions the rise and eventual fall of ISIS, a group of Muslim extremists attempting to force their Islamic sect of Wahhabism on others and to form a caliphate. Its historical importance comes from the complicated web of support these ISIS troublemakers were getting from their enemies supposed allies. Another apparent reason behind their importance is their massive effect ISIS had on the Middle Eastern region of the old world. King describes these villains as akin to raging beasts seeking to destroy everything in their path. Secondly, there appears to be a journal of some kind with information on what daily life was like for King. For instance, instead of neurological implants they had to attend school for 8 hours several times a week to learn. Although writing essays appears to have been a lasting tradition in our societies. Thirdly, King felt it important to mention the some things that weren’t all bad during his life. Specifically, all of the countries involved in their global organization, called the United Nations, agreed upon the fact that they faced climate change issues. Even though the damage had already begun they put aside their minute differences to try and minimize the damage. The people of the past were remarkably petty about minor differences like race

and religion. In short, these were some of the many things King believed we should understand about the world of 500 years ago.
Third, the rest of the items come with notes detailing how they represent King’s self. To begin, I discovered what appears to be an extremely primitive computer. Unfortunately, from what I can tell 500 years of not being used resulted in the computer breaking down. The note details that he used computers extensively in and outside of school. Thus, computers must have been major tools for King and the other people living during that time period. The next item within the capsule is an American military uniform from him serving. The note alongside this item only stated “HOOHA.” Therefore, I can only assume King enjoyed his time in the military. At last, I reached the final item in the capsule, a folded piece of paper detailing the rules to a game called “Rock-Paper-Scissors.” I have never heard of this odd game, but King’s explanation for this is that the game is “pretty cool.” I suppose I will try to play it with my friends since it was apparently important enough to include. In brief, these items represented important aspects of King’s life he deemed important enough to share with the future.
In summary, this essay explored items placed within the time capsule, what King believed to be important for the future to understand, and what items represented him. I have gained a new perspective on the intricacies of history. Learning all of these interesting things about the past has been a surprisingly enlightening time for me, and I hope others will appreciate the past a little more as a result of this essay. The world of 500 years ago appeared to be a time of great change, although that could be argued for all of history. The worlds are constantly changing and moving forward. King appears to an odd fellow based on the objects that apparently represent him. “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” –John F. Kennedy