The Secret Rule Of Time Travel
If you’re like me, you’ve spent a lot of time thinking about time travel. It’s something of a pastime for me, (pun intended). I remember as far back as 6th grade trying to explain 4th dimensional travel for a book report to my glassy-eyed classmates. I didn’t care. I loved every moment.
I’m still a sucker for a good time travel story. Everything from Netflix’s “Dark” to the quintessential “Back To The Future,” traveling through time is an immediately engaging prospect. I’m always fascinated to talk about the logistics of how it could be achieved, and quickly find myself out of my scientific depths. The more approachable question of time travel though, is what time would you travel to? Assume time travel is possible, when would you go to?
As someone with a degree in history, my answer changes constantly. I’d love to see the Declaration Of Independence being signed. I’d get a kick out of talking with John Locke in the late 1600s. I’d want to stop in 1950 so I could be around for Asimov’s first writings.
There are so many things I’d love to see and experience, but I know there are things to be cautious of as well. It wasn’t until 1940 that 50% of households in the U.S. had indoor plumbing. I hesitate to go back further than 1861 so that Pasteur can publish his germ theory. If I go past 1857, I have to be prepared for no toilet paper.
When thinking about these hurdles, I realized they’re little more than inconveniences. With a modern knowledge set and a little gumption, I could work my way around them pretty easily. There isn’t an intrinsic danger for me to travel back in time.
That dear readers, is straight, white, able-bodied, male privilege. If you don’t fall into all 4 of those boxes, history isn’t a safe place. Time travel is a privileged fantasy.
If you’re not white, how far back could you go and be confident in your general safety and civil personhood? If you’re a woman, how far back could you go and still have an acceptable level of independence and equity with your male counterparts? If you belong to the LGBTQIA+ community, how far back could you go and still be able to safely live as who you are? If you live with a disability, how far back could you go and still be able to reasonably expect access to public buildings and information?
The unfortunate answer to most of those questions is that those things can’t be fully guaranteed today let alone in the past.
I think about my wife: a strong, well-educated, brown-skinned, woman. How far back could she go? Not too terribly long ago, there was a name for assertive, intelligent, articulate women. It was “witch”, and it either ended with fire or rope. I don’t want her going past 1967. Before then we wouldn’t have been allowed to marry. It’s great that women can vote and be Vice President but there still isn’t equal pay or opportunity and we’re still waiting on the E.R.A.
The only other group of people I can think of that might benefit from traveling back in time would be the Native Americans. I haven’t asked but they might be willing to sacrifice 500+ years of technological advancement to undo genocide and get their homes back.
If you’re not a straight, white, able-bodied, male, the only time travel that ensures safety and personhood is travel into the future. Our task in the present is to make sure those time travelers don’t have far to go.
