History

History is for most people a boring subject. For most this is because it is about the past, which people don’t feel has much to do with them. The American industrialist Henry Ford once said “history is bunk.”Many people would agree emphatically with his statement and add that they should never have to take the miserable subject in school ever again. However, before you write off history, let me pose this profound statement to you: history is the only thing you can know for certain. The scientist will immediately scoff at this statement. But please pause and think it over for a minute. Say you are researching how chemical A will react with chemical B. The event happens and you prepare to draw a conclusion. But upon what basis are you to make your conclusion? Why, it is history! The history of the event of the reaction of chemicals A and B. Unless as a person, you are capable of reliving the exact moment of the chemical reaction while simultaneously writing the conclusion your information is passed upon the memory of past events. We are all involved in history everyday by recalling past memories and interpreting them or understanding them.

History is fundamentally important to our everyday lives. We avoid touching a hot stove because we remember in the history of our lives touching such a stove once in the past and being burned by it. Most of our actions are based on our remembrance of the past. Imagine what your relationships would be like with your friends, girlfriends or boyfriends, and husbands or wives if you suddenly suffered a bout of amnesia and could not remember anything. You could not remember how to please them or talk to them or, if need be, deal with them. In reality everyone is concerned with history in one form or another. History is not important not only on a personal basis, however. If, as a society we refuse to remember the past we will be like the foolish little boy who cannot remember that the hot stove burns him. Now I do not mean in any way to convey in this analogy that history comes in cycles. I do not believe it does, but the problems and challenges we face today have been experienced by countless generations before us because they are the challenges and problems of humanity. It is foolish to have their examples and not learn from them. History does not repeat itself but the human experience and human characteristics endure throughout history. History does not simply teach us about people who lived long ago but also tells us about ourselves. It teaches what humanity is capable of; both in creative power and in depravity.

History is also important because cultures develop historically. History tells a great deal about where we and other countries in the world are today and how we got there. Understanding the history of the United States should be important to anyone who claims to be a good American citizen. We can understand what policies failed in the past and avoid them in the future. If you listen to any of the talking heads on TV or radio they almost always will try to use history as a verification of the policy they are promoting. If Americans had a better understanding of history they would see that such historical "proofs" are often the result of bad history (See my blog on historical fallacies). History helps develop a critical mind. An understanding of foreign cultures and how they developed is also key for voters who are elected leaders that deal with American foreign policy. I believe one the reasons that Americans are so disliked around the world is because we have a poor understanding of other countries. For instance, I believe that Americans have a poor understanding of the Middle East or even Europe which has not helped the United States positively interact with these areas of the globe.

I would encourage you to take a closer look at history and understand its importance. People are far too influenced by Deweyian "practical" education. The average person and even a great many in acamedia are specialists and do not have a broad education. As a result they tend to be very narrow minded. An education in engineering has a good many applications. It helps us build better buildings, machines, and bridges. But engineering cannot tell us more about the world around us or ourselves. History, which is ultimately the study of people throughout history, is the best at educating us about the world and equipping us with the tools to be good citizens.