Isn't that the definition of the discipline we call "History"? I'm sure Winston Churchill and Liu Bei and Haroun Al-Raschid all spent plenty of time on the toilet or brushing their teeth. It's the historian's job to cut out all the parts that are irrelevant for the story they're telling. The hygeine of these men probably wouldn't find its way into histories of military conquests, but if you were writing the biography of the man, it might be significant.
I realize that there's absolutely no way we'll ever come up with a comprehensive history of the world here. That would require filming everybody who ever lived on earth, for all of their lives, in full-immersion IMAX 3D, and even then we'd still be missing a ton of information.
I'm just looking to touch on a few of the high points of history, for the benefit of those who don't have the privilege of knowing much about it. A basic understanding of history, painted in broad strokes, is better than no understanding at all.
What would be different now? Well, for starters, dissidents like Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese lawyer who fled from home arrest a few months ago, would have fewer successful role models to base their efforts on. Also, if America were still segregated, then that would mean one less member of the UN Security Council who's willing to put pressure on China to "lighten up" on its citizens.
Second, I think that as long as there are people out there who live their lives as second-class citizens, that makes life worse for the rest of us to, because that throws off a lot of anger and frustration and crime into the world, not to mention the fact that the discriminated group feels less incentive to improve the world around them, since they gain only a small benefit, if any, from doing so.
What eras would you suggest I add to the list? Do you know of any movies to fill those categories? I'd love to hear them