If you could go back in time, where would you go?

[coloradodem2005]

I would go back to 2001 and prevent 9/11. It probably would take and elaborate plan.

[TacticalPeek]

1. To do that,

go back to Dec 2000, take Scalia on a cruise to Fiji, and its done.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. It would be fun to go back and kill Cortez before he hit south america

[Cleita]

3. It wouldn't make any difference. Another one would come in his place.

The Spaniards were pretty much the same in that era.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. But it would delay the destruction,

and perhaps enough to make the world a rather different place right now.

It would be interesting to see what would have happened to the world had the conquest taken place just two yaers later, or twenty years later. Perhaps by killing Cortez, Spain wouldn't have gotten all that gold as quickly as they did, and perhaps would have even gone out of power before they could have sent another group there.

Who knows? I'd be curious to see, though.

Also thinking it would be interesting to go back to 1940 or 41 Germany and tell them that the Brits have cracked Enigma. Man, that would change things.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Or go way back to the earliest formation of the church

with a handful of documentation, and tell them, "Dudes - be careful how you put this thing together, and make sure that there's never one person in charge, and that the church never try to manage governments."

[Cleita]

5. North America before Columbus, preferably the Northwest and

the California Sierras.

[CanuckAmok]

7. Right before I lost my truck-keys.

Not terribly ambitious, but rather important, in the immediate sense.

[liberalmuse]

8. I'd go back...

and try and prevent Bush from taking office by preventing George I and Barbara from doing the nasty back in the 1940's (or whenever they spawned W). While I'm at it, I'd go back and make sure these two NEVER bred anything other more than prized poodles.

[Ladyhawk]

11. I'd take out Constantine.

Christianity is the bloodiest, nastiest, most evil religion that has ever infected our planet. The evil Constantine made it mainstream. Heck, maybe it would be best to go all the way back and take out the three Abrahamic religions--the ones most prone to radical fundamentalism.

What we're fighting now in the right-wing party is yoked with fundamentalist Christianity. Probably it could be argued that something just as awful would have developed, but I doubt it.

"Christianity is the most perverse system ever shone to man." -Thomas Jefferson.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

19. Oh, please.

Religion is not the problem. Humans twisting religion for their own purposes is the problem.

Now, if you did indeed go back in time and take out Constantine, then Christianity probably would never have gotten Rome's power behind it, and we wouldn't have to deal with annoying Christian fundamentalists today. I'll grant you that. But odds are we'd just have nutbars from some other religion in their place, screaming at the top of their lungs that Jupiter or Shiva(*) wanted us to go forth and slaughter each other.

It's the same way I react to those "capitalism kills" people at WTO protests. It's one thing to direct your negative energy against a particular individual or group who's currently abusing the system for their own nefarious ends, but that doesn't mean the system itself is intrinsically evil or weak; no more so than any alternatives, anyway.

(*)Apologies to any Hindus who might take offense at that one. I'm just using it as an example.

[LWolf]

9. During my lifetime?

1970.

Any time in the past? North America, pre-bering strait crossing.

[Lostmessage]

10. I would go back to Medieval Times

I love Castles and I would have given anything to have seen a working castle during it's heyday.

[tridim]

12. I'd like to talk to Jesus

and beg him to tell his followers to never, ever fight wars in his father's name.

[blueraven95]

13. Thought about this a lot

I would really love to go back to Jesus's life, and see what really happened. I don't think I would change anything, though, because I don't want the responsibility of all of history on my head.

[wunnerfulrobin]

14. MARCH 2000; sell the stock market short & dump wife!

Not nearly as good as some of the deep-thinkers above, but would have sure made a difference in MY past 3 1/2 years!!!!!!!!!

[Ready4Change]

15. Depends on interaction allowed

If I can only observe (in order to protect the integrity of the time/space continuum?) I, like many others, would like to see dinasours.

If I can participate I've got 3 choices. I'd like to see the Wright Brothers first flight, and then participate in the development of flight up until the commencement of WWI.

Or, I'd like to participate in the years of sportscar racing from about 1955 to about 1965.

Or, participate in the X-Planes program, including flights on the X-15. It was an era where it seemed there was no limits on what we could do.

If I could change something, I doubt one person could do anything to change events on a grand scale. I'd instead want to do something along the lines of providing the Columbia crew with the means of repairing their damaged wing.

But, if I had to live in the times, yet not participate, I think I'd decline the offer. I like the comforts of this modern world enough that I'd need a carrot to draw me away.

[ironflange]

16. April 1969

I'd bet a bundle on the Mets.

[renegade000]

17. well going back before i was born

would invariable lead to my not being born...so thats out of the picture...

stopping 9/11 i would say.

[woofless]

18. July 8, 1977

and NOT marry that woman the next day. THAT woud be relief.

Woof

[never cry wolf]

28. June of 1979

And marry the woman I SHOULD have married!!

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

20. Take * back to 1776 and leave him there.

[frogfromthenorth2]

21. Reminds me of that great book called REPLAY

Guy kept going back in time at the time of his death.... And at one point decided to change history... very interesting book...

[balloon_guy]

22. Dallas, November 22, 1963 <nt>

[arwalden]

23. BAD NEWS: We already *have* gone back in time to correct the past...

... and this IS the new and improved version of reality. This is the best they could do. (But you should have SEEN HOW HORRIBLE the original timeline of George W. Bush was!!)

-- Allen

[Loonman]

24. No point-----you couldn't change anything, anyway

You could change little things, but as for altering the course of history?

Not possible.

[el_gato]

25. I would go back 10,000 years

before the advent of this phoney scam called civilization

[Fridays Child]

26. As long as all you other guys are saving the world, I'd go back to...

...Leonardo da Vinci's time, just to have a conversation with him.

Edit: But, first, I'd stop off and pick up Carl Sagan. He could ask Leonardo better questions than me.

[11 Bravo]

27. Texas before * was conceived.

I'd get Poppy a hooker and Babs a hysterectomy.

≥

[Digger]

29. Friday Oct. 7*, 1955

Six Gallery, 3119 Fillmore St. - San Francisco

Allen Ginsberg read his new poem "Howl" for the first time, an earthshaking event in the world of literature.

* disclaimer - some claim this reading took place on Oct.13th.