In a message dated 12/11/2006 8:07:45 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Why?  These were elementary school kids, not adults.  They  placed the
items in the capsule that were important to them.  Does a  time capsule
have to be a political/social representation of the whole  country in
order to be a "good" one?




Paul,
 
I was not judging the school kids time capsules or the games they played in  
selecting things for their time capsule. This is a Free Country and anyone can 
 put anything in a time capsule and, in our age, there is no definition of a 
good  or bad time capsule. However, someone did state there were 19th century 
rules  for the contents of time capsules. Having read that, my opinion  is 
(and was) that time capsules should reflect the important issues of  the times 
and that led me to think about the things I would hope people in one  or two 
centuries would think about 1968. 
 
This discussion has opened a new "can of worms." What IS a  time capsule? Is 
it just another form of temporal graffiti, or a joke on time,  or a statement 
of socio-economic and political issues, or a  religious/spiritual message? Are 
time capsules solely created for  dedicating a building? And, what are the 
historical and cultural underpinnings  of time capsules? And to Susan Walter's 
issue of "etic and emic," is anyone in  the future allowed to question the 
value, truth, or meaning of the contents  of a time capsule? Who is to say? I feel 
time capsules are fair game for  open discussion, critique, and exchange of 
ideas.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.