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Originally Posted by Bęthberry
MatthewM, I see by your profile that you are from the New World, New York.
It seems to me that America's attitude towards real history is somewhat different than the European attitude. "History" is all around the countries of Europe. Ancient buildings still stand and are used, people remember what happened in places because they don't--or didn't at a high rate--tear down useful buildings and structures to make room for modern things. England still has Roman roads--and they are called such. Castles still stand. And barrows are all over the land, real barrows that were funeral grounds.
Here in America, we tend to tear down old things rather than reuse them. We also have fewer centuries of 'lived' history behind us. Mores to our pity I think, as there is much in our history that bears remembering, especially how our lands were explored and taken over.
So I think it is easier for North Americans to blur the distinction between fictional and real history, or to be cynical about the histories recorded in textbooks. For us, it is a 'textbook', always written by someone with a particular perspective; for Europeans, to a large extent, history remains something which shaped their land and cities. It isn't something that comes out of a book.
After all, real history is told by witnesses and participants, rather than by journalists and scholars. 
Of course, I'm sure some of our European BDers can easily refute my thoughts here, but certainly my visits to Europe gave me a sense that Europeans live under a weight of history that North Americans cannot quite appreciate.
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Well, do speak for yourself. Not all Americans are like that. As I said, I'm a history major in college, so I value history very highly. When I visited England in May of this year indeed it was different, for history was still living there. Castles, rolling green lands, buildings that have been left. The sense of history is just so much more present there than it is in America, but I wouldn't confuse that with appreciation. We still have things here to appreciate, but our air is not filled with it as is England's. As a Swedish friend told me once, "America is built for cars". It's sad but true, but that doesn't mean we do not appreciate the history of our land and our world.
narfforc, I think you're missing the point of the post a little. You're making it sound like I'm a dreamful nut who thinks he is in Middle-earth. Believe me sir, I know when to draw the line between fiction and reality. However, I'm talking about deeper into the mind, trancending what we really know. I mentioned that sometimes I tend to think myself to think like certain characters of Tolkien, but by no means do I think I am them. Middle-earth is alive in our minds, for we let it live. Don't confuse that with ultimately "wasting your life away"!