Some of the world's countries have been blessed with a rich wealth of history and archaeological items. These countries have recently been fighting to reclaim their treasures, and asking for the countries that currently hold them, to give them back.
However, should we? These countries are often the most explosive and unsafe locations for these treasures. These other countries (Egypt, Greece, Turkey... etc) dispute this argument and claim that in our modern era, that they are ready to hold responsibility for their history.
I would suggest, that it is not the readiness of their intellectual communites that should be judged, but the readiness of the common man of the country. For it is those commoners that will either respect their own history or they that will destroy it.
This past weekend, an example that cannot be ignored has taken place. The riots in Egypt have caused harm and damage to the treasure kept in the Cairo Museum. Items have been smashed, damaged, and stolen as apart of the violence that was taking place.
Yes, the intellectual community of the region, may be ready and willing to take on the important responsibility of caring for their past, but this is a fine example of how the common man does not respect their own history. Its better to the leave those items that are in Germany, France and Britain and etc where they currently are. Maybe someday they will be ready. But I do not think it is right now.
A copy of this story can be found online at the Time website HERE. Below is another reporting directly from the Egyptian news reporting agency, Al Jazeera.
This is hard???? At first I thought you were wrong and that the treasures should be kept by those states that made them. But as I kept reading I knew from where you were coming from. I still think that they should keep them but have them under more security. Our Declaration of Independance isn't just on a counter it is behind other things like bullet proof glass and even then it may not even be the reall one. I understand that other states are not ready, but you have to make them be ready how else will they become independant. They wont learn till they destroy something and see they can't have it back.
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