There are moments in history that are more important than others. In one sense, this is much not the case. Since history is merely a collective parade of discreet moments, one leading seamlessly into another, it is impossible for one moment to be more important than the next—all moments are merely the product of all the moments that lead up to their occurrence. Bolaño puts it this way:

“Mickey was not only irritating but ridiculous, with the particular ridiculousness of self-dramatizers and poor fools convinced they’ve been present at a decisive moment in history, when it’s common knowledge that history, which is a simple whore, has no decisive moments but is a proliferation of instants, brief interludes that vie with one another in monstrousness.” Not in themselves, not in their significance on their own merits. These moments are notable in that they trigger more cataclysmic events years later.