The past teache's us a great many things. But have we really learnt from it. Do we still make those same mistakes. As a country/Nation/Species do you think we have learnt from the mistakes we've truly made. Or does History repeat itself more so than maybe it should. We fight so many wars and we have lost so many lives yet here we are again on the brink of war with Iran. I'm not sure if we or our leaders have learnt from the mistakes past. Sometimes it seems as though the more we grow the bigger mistakes we make. Do you think History is a good teacher. ~Raven.
I think there is a lot more to it than that. How can we learn from history if we let it repeat itself with each generation. Do you think history is a good teacher. ~Raven.
Not necessarily. Even if we know history, the circumstances under which certain things reoccur can be different. A good analogy is fashion (I use this because it's something I'm familiar with). The eighties were a terrible decade for fashion, a lot of people agree on that. However, now a lot of the fads that were popular in the eighties are coming back. Skinny jeans, higher rise jeans, wide belts at the waist instead of at the hip, lots of big gaudy bracelets. Even though we can look at the eighties and say that those fads were horrible, we can wear those things today and say it's "retro" or "vintage." It's all about circumstance and perspective. As long as there is a reason to justify it, it will occur, and no amount of education on the subject can change that.
History is crap...in mine own opinion. We can't dwell on the past but prehaps learn from it. U can't change what happened a gazillion years ago either so i find it pointless it be taught to any1 cuz we don't need it to live life.
So you don't think it's valuable at all to know where we came from? You don't think it's good to know how our society evolved, or why people's beliefs are the way they are today?
*sigh* I have no time right now but mark my words I will lecture u just ou wait..only if I wasn't so tired *yawn*
maybe i do have time. U see history is senseless because It tells you about the past and how bad it was and how many wars had come upon us because of this new founded thing called a religion. People satrted bustin' ut guns and killin' others cuz they diagreed with their religion and it is that way now too. I bet you that If I went to a church and yelled some bad about there reigion some1 would more than likely twll me to go to hell and shot me on the spot (i would never do this by the way) History also pisses me off becaus eof things like the holocaust. I'm Jewish by blood not cuz I practice the religion but because my mom's family was Jewish. Hitler Killed many Jews because he thought that they were causing the economic and political problems in Germany....and guess what he was Jewish too. But guess what do we learn from that mistake....HELL NO!!! a little while after america is bustin' out AK 47's becuase people are at Jeruselum were a "God" was born..even if there was a god wouldn't he totally be pissed to see his children killin' each other over some "sacred land" tis not like there is no room it is because people think they will be some almighty person living on some so-called "holy ground" . If there was anything to learn from history it's war. and guess what goin on right now we are at 2 wars that have lasted nearly seven years and kids are losin parents wives are losin husband and we are losin brave american soldiers to a buch of assholes who think they can blow up american property. DO you have any IDEA how many innocent soldiers and foriegners have been killed in this senseless piece of crap!?! History isn't even paid attention to anymore...I admit It is nice to know that Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independance on July fourth 1776...who doesn't care about that....DOES ANY1 WANT ME TO GO ON FURTHER?
Maybe the reason we only read or hear about bad things that have happened in the past, is because it IS mostly bad things that have happened in the past. I mean, how many great things has mankind achieved? There may be quite a lot, sure, but when weighed against the evil we've done to each other, proportionally our achievements are probably zilch. So yes, knowing your history is vital. We all need to learn from our mistakes.
Learning from history is vital if we are to have any sense of identity and recognise the root causes of the issues that our society currently faces. History is not just a tedious educational subject, we are still today the living, breathing product of everything that has happened over the last few millenia. We are still lving out the consequences of that and it dictates everything we do. You may think, living in a democratic nation, that your choices and opinions are those of a free-thinking individual, yet they are more than likely strongly affected by cultural influences. These influences have come about as a result of historical events. We are only what history has made us, no matter how free-thinking we consider ourselfves to be. History is, quite frankly, fantastic. It is a rich tapestry of human experience, triumph, defeat, achievement, failure, good and evil from which many, many lessons are to be learned. To disregard it is to make us less than human.
You guys know a lot of stuff. All I can say here is History is no more interesting to me now than it was back in school. Unless there's a cool movie about it, especially that of Chinese and Japanese history.
I'm a firm believer we can learn from history. I think the biggest lesson is history its how we learn and what defines us into the people we are today. The only thing is a great deal ofthe population choose to ignore history's lessons and thus the same mistakes are starting to repeat themselves again. If you do not learn from our mistakes how can we move on. ~Raven.
I don't think, like most things you can view this in 2 tones. Black or white your going to have opposing views. Whilst I believe it is not important ot know where you come from I do believe it is interesting and valuable. I dont believe actions should be based on past events or beliefs. Rather you should look more towards future goals and current actions. In a time as unstable and potentially dangerous as this I feel it is more important to look to the present and future. Whilist I believe it isinteresting to know where you came from I do not believe we should cling onto this belief, even steriotype, we adopt because of where we come from. For example, Britain clung onto the Pound Sterling, rather than accepting the Euro. We said it was part of our culture. I think this is incredibly fustrating. We stand in the way of progress to hold attachments to little pieces of metal which apparently represent us. What makes us British, what makes us Scottish, Irish, English or Welsh is us. Stop trying to define yourself by objects around you but who you are! This has staryed a little but I feel the heart of it stays true.
I certainly cannot speak for anyone else, but I am facinated with history. It is really interesting to know how other's lived long ago, and how far we as a society have come in the face of so many obsticals... Think about it for a minute, we have faced so much, and perservered even though in a lot of cases we were completely naive. BTW life was neither easy, nor as "convienient" as it is today, some 200 years or more ago...To some history may be a boring subject of no account. But I think that a lot of kids turn away from history when in school, not because history is boring, but because the way history is taught is boring. Back to the original question, Can you learn from history? As with all experiences in life, you learn from some mistakes, and some you make over and over until the pain gets great enough to do something different. You CAN learn from history, and I think we have to some extent...
The question is have we learnt enough to change. Take war for example its followed us through time its what we do best. Nations argue then war with each other. Its like a spining record we come back to were we started As a Person I learn from history. The past fascinates me. Everything about history fascinates me. And yes when I was at school many years back history was taught in a boring and disinteresting manner yet 15 years on and History fascinates me. But I don't think as a race we are learning from our past mistakes and someday its the niave that will be what ruins the future. ~Raven.
Whether you are aware of it or not, all our actions are based on past events. t's comparable to knowing how your own personality has come into being and how it shapes your decisions. In a similiar way, it is vital for humanity to understand what shapes our society and how this determines our actions. We call that sort of decision-making based on past experience wisdom. Anything else is, frankly, blind ignorance.
The trouble is its the blind ignorant. That lead our sociatie's. As a single person I learn from the past but its the blind ignorance, of the population that don't learn and choose to ignore what the past can teach us. ~Raven.
I think people's view of history is a little skewed in some respects. I noticed in reading through the posts that most people had a tendency to focus on the negative things that have happened in history. Humanity has a tendency in general to focus on the negative and overlook the positive. You need to look at history objectively and assess it in that manner. Yes, war has historically been inevitable and yes there has been mass slaughter since the beginning of time. But have you ever stopped and wondered why we actually survived through all that? Why generations later we have computers and superhighways and civilized societies? Why aren't we still living in caves and hunting for food? There is a process in history. Documents written hundreds of years ago still hold true today. The constitution is a great example of this. What most people don't see is the resolution past the initial actions in history. There is much to be learned about why we have the society we have today because of the generations who layed the groundwork before us. History is key to the advancement of our society. You have to know where you've been to know where you are going. Plain and simple.
