The hills have giants. This word giant traverses every continent and language despite how much our history tries to forget. Columbus did not discover America, he erased it. But the giants are still here. Their shoulders are still propping up our feet. Science gives us a list of animals allowed to be giants. The list includes lizards and birds, fishes and plants, insects, and crustaceans. Every creature on the list except man. Science insists man has always been puny. Science is a religion that brings man to his knees. Any mention of giants is pushed to the bottom of the tar pit.
But the hills have giants. The last one killed was thrown into the sea. Gianticus Osama bin Ladenicus stood as tall as two Trade Centers. We hunted him down with the powers of civilization. We are flawless in our history thanks to these surgeons with a blunderbuss. Indian reeducation camps and public schools correct every record. Every tribe is branded with a savage name. Every dance is forbidden. Every potlatch is bled dry under the fluorescent. Every living valley of soil was reclaimed in the name of some distant daughter who never cared. They buried the giants in boxes and labeled them lizards with long necks.
The buried history of Giants.
Looking forward to part II
A tangent, inspired by this lovely episode. Any commands are addressed to me, before anyone else…
A visit to the water park, yesterday, brought to mind three giant corpora built to serve an ambitious purpose: consumption for consumption’s sake.
My local theme parks, shopping malls, and even my precious YouTube all seem like freshly spent carcasses, still open for exploration.
These behemoths eventually became monstrosities to moralizers like me, seeking a better tomorrow — to hear me tell it.
So, take heart and take in the high ceilings and grandeur.
Enjoy these shadows of dinosaurs — grown in a world, for whom development wasn’t arrested by an envisioned future, too white-hot and bright for such voracious fires.
Treasure whatever nostalgia is yours. Don’t spend it.
A new age brings forth new giants, and you are a growing thing.