Historic: Significant in history, important in or affecting the course of history
Historical: Formerly existing or happening, existing, happening, or relating to the past
Driving through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, British Columbia and Oregon, it has become clear that those who designate towns and sections of towns do not understand the difference between something being historical (That is, it happened or existed in the past) and historic (That is, it had a significant impact on history). What Sharon and I now say to each other as we pass yet another "Historic" district, town, province, etc, is "Historic, which being interpreted means, old."
In their defense, what these local or state officials probably meant is that this town has actually survived the usual natural disasters and real estate speculation, so this alone makes it significant. But the Historic designation seems more to be about getting people to not drive past your town or district at 75 MPH. Instead they want you to stop and spend money on things you can find at home for less. (Is my cynicism showing?)
But there may be another reason why so many people want their town or area designated as Historic. We all have an overwhelming desire to matter. We don't want our town to be forgotten. We don't want our history to be forgotten. We don't want our people to be forgotten. We want those who pass through to realize that at some level every town, and the people who live there, are historic. Certainly from a theological perspective, that is the case. Nothing and no one is insignificant to God. Even a cursory reading of the Bible shows that everything and everyone matters. Maybe I should start wearing a tag that welcomes people to "Visit Historic Paul Schliep."
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