Post by SeventhSeal17 on May 8, 2007 21:27:29 GMT -5
“A nation that forgets its past can function no better than an individual with amnesia”
-David McCullough-
History
Or: Why Study It?
D. R. Munro
It has been said that those who devote their life to learning the histories live half in the cemetery. That may be true, but there is far more knowledge to be had in the countless volumes of history than any classroom in the world. It has also been said that knowledge and wisdom may only be properly acquired with age, like fine wine. I say to you then, what holds more age than that of history? By the age of fifty a man has had fifty years of experience and wisdom, by the age of eighteen people such as myself hold the wisdom of Voltaire, Marx, and Plato. I know what Keats, Yates, and Wilde had to say about life and its contradictory nature.
On a more practical and related level, what would our culture be like if we had no account of our history? Timeless stories such as Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and The Seven Samurai would be lost forever. The glimmer of hope that Rita Hayworth inspired in a world slowly descending in darkness, the lovable memories so many have of a young man named Frank Sinatra.
One of the main reasons that our history needs to never be forgotten is that we, as human beings, must never forget the ones who have died and suffered for so long. For when we forget, the world around us forgets with haste – and then they are gone forever. Gone to lie in millions of unmarked ditches around the globe; dead, forgotten, and in utter vain. It teaches us that we must live for today because there is no guarantee that tomorrow will ever come, and if it does indeed come, there is no guarantee that it will be like the day that precedes it. The sunny day of 8 August 1945, the small Japanese city of Nagasaki goes about its business. Children laugh and play at school, Fathers head off to the office or factory, and mothers begin their cooking and cleaning for the day. It never enters into their mind that tomorrow 42 square miles of their home and 140,000 of their fellow citizens will be completely and utterly obliterated by the most awesome weapon man had ever conceived.
History allows us to understand how the society we live in, and the problems we face, came into being. We all know that we are currently fighting a war in the Middle East. Many criticize the politics behind the war; many of these people are extremely ill-informed and know not why we are even in the region in the first place. A common, and not altogether wrong, answer is to say the attacks on September 11 provoked America to enter into a war. This answer brings up another point in studying history – looking at the big picture and removing cultural tunnel vision. Many would be surprised to learn that the issues in the Middle East, and their anti-western mentality, stem from an event that occurred nearly one-hundred years ago. After the First World War a new map of the world was forged by the victors, which were the Western powers. What happened was arbitrary bordering in regions that are staunchly nationalist, these nations felt completely betrayed the Western powers and vowed to get their land back. This happened once more with the partitioning of the Middle East following World War II. The major event to rise out of these actions is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that rages still to this day.
I happen to harbor a theory that all history can be traced back to a handful of events from which stem infinitely the makings of our ‘modern’ world. I liken it to a domino effect played on a global scale. Many people know of the conflict and tension that lies between Muslims and Christians, not many people know where this stems from. History gives me the ability to interrupt and draw from past events to pull our own conclusions, and through my research I have decided that it all branches from the numerous crusades that were held between the years of 1095 and 1272 AD.
It may sound like a stretch to make the claim that an event that occurred nearly one-thousand years ago holds any bearing over the current state of affairs, but I feel it honestly does. Many people may not remember the crusades, but they have it in the back of their heads, whether they know it or not. It works along the same lines of film quotes. I have oft heard many people who have zero film knowledge quote remarkable, and quite old, films. When asked their opinion on the film you promptly receive a “That’s from a movie?” response. It has, through one mean or another, become embedded into the minds of the people. They know not why they know it, only that they know it.
Muslims know not why it is their duty to hate all Westerners, specifically Americans, but they know they are supposed to. Which coasts right into the next main reason history is indispensable: It combats ignorance from every angle, and does it so by spewing ignorance from every angle. Now that you know why there is a tension between Muslims and Christians does it not seem, to put it plainly, stupid that a tension even exists? It is equal to the disagreement that still takes place in Modern American. Many African-Americans are untrustworthy toward the government and carry an aura of “I am owed something” for what their ancestors were put through as slaves. This argument just exhumes ignorance. Unless I missed a large event, there has been no slavery since January 1, 1863 when Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation on the blood drenched battlefield at Antietam. I do not condone or believe in slavery and had no part in. In fact, Americans have no part in it for generations. It is beliefs like this that prolong our separation of other cultures and races. History is there to gain knowledge and insight from, not to dwell upon.
History gives us our national pride. Whatever you happen to believe about the current state of affairs really doesn’t matter. I for one are extremely disappointed with what my beloved country has turned into, but when I think back about the bravery and courage in times of peril (Great Depression, World War II, War for Independence, ect.) it makes me proud. It gives a sense a identity, knowing where you have been does. You are an American. Ashamed or not, it is what we are.
Knowing history allows for the practical tracing of patterns. In Julian, Gore Vidal wrote of the decline and eventual fall of the Roman Empire, seemingly unrelated and irrelevant to everything, he noticed a pattern. He drew a conclusion about how that time period paralleled our own and it would just be plainly stupid for the human race to perpetually fall into the same ditch over and over. We do anyways, but at least we can see the ditches we are about to fall into.
Tracing my own patterns I have come to the conclusion that America is not a democracy. She is a highly militarized Republic fighting perpetual war for perpetual peace. We take what we want, when we want it. We invade where we want, when want to – and often unilaterally – the worlds largest rogue state.
History also enables the ability of critical thinking and the sorting of information. Again to draw from Gore Vidal, his novel Burr is based on the life of Aaron Burr who is widely considered the villain in the founding era. Vidal didn’t think that was the whole story and began his research. What he found was that Burr was intentionally victimized by Thomas Jefferson and the like, a scapegoat if you will. The point is, take nothing that is told to you for fact, and question everything. History will allow the skills to do so.
What history has given also endowed in myself is a strong sense a strategic thinking. There is so very much to be taken from tales of military conquest, and many can be applied in various forms to everyday life. The previous statement is why many still read The Art of War. Nearing the end of the Second World War Joseph Stalin’s Red Army had achieved an historic turn-around. The USSR went from being absolutely destroyed to bringing the fall of the Thousand Year Reich. Joseph Stalin had read tales of the Norman conquests and witnessed how the campaigns had played out. The decision was made to press into the heart of Germany: Berlin. Berlin was easily the strongest and most well-fortified area of the country, but when reading of the Normans he learned to strike the enemy where they are strongest, for they are expecting an attack where they are weakest. Caught by complete surprise the Russians, after grueling fighting, captured the German capital city effectively ending the war in Europe.
Without having knowledge of past events who knows, we may still have been engaged that all consuming conflict. That leads right into the next major confrontation of the twentieth century. George Patton hated the Russians. Hated them with every breath he took. He knew the Russians were never going to give Germany back once they had captured it, which is why he repeatedly told Franklin Roosevelt that as soon as Germany falls, we march into Russia. Roosevelt thought this so ludicrous that he nearly ousted Patton. But, through the study of History, we can see Patton was absolutely correct. We were engaged in a “war” that didn’t end until 1993.
This brings me right up to the last point I wish to make. History promoted understanding between cultures, between races. I cannot stress enough how important this is because for my money, this is what brings about Americas decline. Our unabashed ignorance is remarkable. Only through history can we see that the French, a people that Americans often look down their nose at, were influential in the creation of our country. Dare I say, without Marquis de Lafayette there would be no America. On the other hand, the French need to remember that without the joint landing at Normandy there may very well be no France. That is just one example of thousands over the course of human history, for until we can learn to understand (which will never happen) we will live in a world of perpetual war. So get used to it.
Why study history? Basically, because we have to. Without drawing from past triumphs, and pitfalls, we can go nowhere in this life. To put it in more simple terms, if you stick your finger into a light socket and get electrocuted, will you do it again? The insanely obvious answer is ‘no’, but humans have stuck their finger into that same light socket more times than can be counted. And we will continue to do so until one of two things happen. We either learn that it is plain stupid, and painful, to repeatedly insert your finger into a light socket; or we annihilate this planet. The latter is what I foresee becoming a reality – but only because I know my history.
THIS IS MY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU MAY NOT USE IT IN PART OR WHOLE ANYWHERE.
[/color]-David McCullough-
History
Or: Why Study It?
D. R. Munro
It has been said that those who devote their life to learning the histories live half in the cemetery. That may be true, but there is far more knowledge to be had in the countless volumes of history than any classroom in the world. It has also been said that knowledge and wisdom may only be properly acquired with age, like fine wine. I say to you then, what holds more age than that of history? By the age of fifty a man has had fifty years of experience and wisdom, by the age of eighteen people such as myself hold the wisdom of Voltaire, Marx, and Plato. I know what Keats, Yates, and Wilde had to say about life and its contradictory nature.
On a more practical and related level, what would our culture be like if we had no account of our history? Timeless stories such as Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and The Seven Samurai would be lost forever. The glimmer of hope that Rita Hayworth inspired in a world slowly descending in darkness, the lovable memories so many have of a young man named Frank Sinatra.
One of the main reasons that our history needs to never be forgotten is that we, as human beings, must never forget the ones who have died and suffered for so long. For when we forget, the world around us forgets with haste – and then they are gone forever. Gone to lie in millions of unmarked ditches around the globe; dead, forgotten, and in utter vain. It teaches us that we must live for today because there is no guarantee that tomorrow will ever come, and if it does indeed come, there is no guarantee that it will be like the day that precedes it. The sunny day of 8 August 1945, the small Japanese city of Nagasaki goes about its business. Children laugh and play at school, Fathers head off to the office or factory, and mothers begin their cooking and cleaning for the day. It never enters into their mind that tomorrow 42 square miles of their home and 140,000 of their fellow citizens will be completely and utterly obliterated by the most awesome weapon man had ever conceived.
History allows us to understand how the society we live in, and the problems we face, came into being. We all know that we are currently fighting a war in the Middle East. Many criticize the politics behind the war; many of these people are extremely ill-informed and know not why we are even in the region in the first place. A common, and not altogether wrong, answer is to say the attacks on September 11 provoked America to enter into a war. This answer brings up another point in studying history – looking at the big picture and removing cultural tunnel vision. Many would be surprised to learn that the issues in the Middle East, and their anti-western mentality, stem from an event that occurred nearly one-hundred years ago. After the First World War a new map of the world was forged by the victors, which were the Western powers. What happened was arbitrary bordering in regions that are staunchly nationalist, these nations felt completely betrayed the Western powers and vowed to get their land back. This happened once more with the partitioning of the Middle East following World War II. The major event to rise out of these actions is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that rages still to this day.
I happen to harbor a theory that all history can be traced back to a handful of events from which stem infinitely the makings of our ‘modern’ world. I liken it to a domino effect played on a global scale. Many people know of the conflict and tension that lies between Muslims and Christians, not many people know where this stems from. History gives me the ability to interrupt and draw from past events to pull our own conclusions, and through my research I have decided that it all branches from the numerous crusades that were held between the years of 1095 and 1272 AD.
It may sound like a stretch to make the claim that an event that occurred nearly one-thousand years ago holds any bearing over the current state of affairs, but I feel it honestly does. Many people may not remember the crusades, but they have it in the back of their heads, whether they know it or not. It works along the same lines of film quotes. I have oft heard many people who have zero film knowledge quote remarkable, and quite old, films. When asked their opinion on the film you promptly receive a “That’s from a movie?” response. It has, through one mean or another, become embedded into the minds of the people. They know not why they know it, only that they know it.
Muslims know not why it is their duty to hate all Westerners, specifically Americans, but they know they are supposed to. Which coasts right into the next main reason history is indispensable: It combats ignorance from every angle, and does it so by spewing ignorance from every angle. Now that you know why there is a tension between Muslims and Christians does it not seem, to put it plainly, stupid that a tension even exists? It is equal to the disagreement that still takes place in Modern American. Many African-Americans are untrustworthy toward the government and carry an aura of “I am owed something” for what their ancestors were put through as slaves. This argument just exhumes ignorance. Unless I missed a large event, there has been no slavery since January 1, 1863 when Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation on the blood drenched battlefield at Antietam. I do not condone or believe in slavery and had no part in. In fact, Americans have no part in it for generations. It is beliefs like this that prolong our separation of other cultures and races. History is there to gain knowledge and insight from, not to dwell upon.
History gives us our national pride. Whatever you happen to believe about the current state of affairs really doesn’t matter. I for one are extremely disappointed with what my beloved country has turned into, but when I think back about the bravery and courage in times of peril (Great Depression, World War II, War for Independence, ect.) it makes me proud. It gives a sense a identity, knowing where you have been does. You are an American. Ashamed or not, it is what we are.
Knowing history allows for the practical tracing of patterns. In Julian, Gore Vidal wrote of the decline and eventual fall of the Roman Empire, seemingly unrelated and irrelevant to everything, he noticed a pattern. He drew a conclusion about how that time period paralleled our own and it would just be plainly stupid for the human race to perpetually fall into the same ditch over and over. We do anyways, but at least we can see the ditches we are about to fall into.
Tracing my own patterns I have come to the conclusion that America is not a democracy. She is a highly militarized Republic fighting perpetual war for perpetual peace. We take what we want, when we want it. We invade where we want, when want to – and often unilaterally – the worlds largest rogue state.
History also enables the ability of critical thinking and the sorting of information. Again to draw from Gore Vidal, his novel Burr is based on the life of Aaron Burr who is widely considered the villain in the founding era. Vidal didn’t think that was the whole story and began his research. What he found was that Burr was intentionally victimized by Thomas Jefferson and the like, a scapegoat if you will. The point is, take nothing that is told to you for fact, and question everything. History will allow the skills to do so.
What history has given also endowed in myself is a strong sense a strategic thinking. There is so very much to be taken from tales of military conquest, and many can be applied in various forms to everyday life. The previous statement is why many still read The Art of War. Nearing the end of the Second World War Joseph Stalin’s Red Army had achieved an historic turn-around. The USSR went from being absolutely destroyed to bringing the fall of the Thousand Year Reich. Joseph Stalin had read tales of the Norman conquests and witnessed how the campaigns had played out. The decision was made to press into the heart of Germany: Berlin. Berlin was easily the strongest and most well-fortified area of the country, but when reading of the Normans he learned to strike the enemy where they are strongest, for they are expecting an attack where they are weakest. Caught by complete surprise the Russians, after grueling fighting, captured the German capital city effectively ending the war in Europe.
Without having knowledge of past events who knows, we may still have been engaged that all consuming conflict. That leads right into the next major confrontation of the twentieth century. George Patton hated the Russians. Hated them with every breath he took. He knew the Russians were never going to give Germany back once they had captured it, which is why he repeatedly told Franklin Roosevelt that as soon as Germany falls, we march into Russia. Roosevelt thought this so ludicrous that he nearly ousted Patton. But, through the study of History, we can see Patton was absolutely correct. We were engaged in a “war” that didn’t end until 1993.
This brings me right up to the last point I wish to make. History promoted understanding between cultures, between races. I cannot stress enough how important this is because for my money, this is what brings about Americas decline. Our unabashed ignorance is remarkable. Only through history can we see that the French, a people that Americans often look down their nose at, were influential in the creation of our country. Dare I say, without Marquis de Lafayette there would be no America. On the other hand, the French need to remember that without the joint landing at Normandy there may very well be no France. That is just one example of thousands over the course of human history, for until we can learn to understand (which will never happen) we will live in a world of perpetual war. So get used to it.
Why study history? Basically, because we have to. Without drawing from past triumphs, and pitfalls, we can go nowhere in this life. To put it in more simple terms, if you stick your finger into a light socket and get electrocuted, will you do it again? The insanely obvious answer is ‘no’, but humans have stuck their finger into that same light socket more times than can be counted. And we will continue to do so until one of two things happen. We either learn that it is plain stupid, and painful, to repeatedly insert your finger into a light socket; or we annihilate this planet. The latter is what I foresee becoming a reality – but only because I know my history.
THIS IS MY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU MAY NOT USE IT IN PART OR WHOLE ANYWHERE.