We may have learned about history and yet many do not know the reason we learn it. What is in it that is so important
that our future relies on it? We study history but never learn to see beyond history and what it is trying to show us about the world.
There are 5 main reasons and numerous minor ones why history is important to our future. Let us stick to the main ones for discussion. And they are related to each other.
Origin. It is the only subject that tries to tell us what happened before us, what was where, how was who and so on. It is the only restore point made for us to refer and to compare. It is also a way our ancestors try to show us how the earth was before.
Achievements. Having something in the past for us to compare, we are able to see how far we have gone. And how far we are able to go.
Progress and Changes. We progress each day and we keep on changing ourselves be it our habits or our preferences. We are able to see what we have done to ourselves all this while. Have we been trying to improve ourselves? Have we been ignorant enough to change our bad habits? Have we change our habits that is annoying to the earth? Have you improve by equipping yourselves with knowledges on how to keep the earth healthy? If so, have you measure your achievements and see how farther you are able to go in building a healthy earth to live? In making the earth proud of you?
Contributions. Looking at what is happening on the other side of the earth, we see wars contributing to the destruction of this earth we stand on. Blames we shift to everyone for everything bad that is happening on this very earth. Instead, have we look into the mirror lately? Have we asked ourselves what have we contributes that is constructive to this earth? Contributions, good or bad, lay on our very hands.
Changes made. We may say we haven''t contribute anything good nor bad but changes we made on this earth, directly and indirectly affects our future. When we look at a book, we are looking at the world. When we look at the pages, we are looking at the trees we cut down. For the sake of knowledge we cut them down. Excessive loggings that leads to habitats destruction. Just because the habitat doesn''t belong to us. The extinction of animals are results of changes we made on this earth. Just because it is illegal to hang human remains, making animals the next substitute we have as our trophy we proudly display on our walls. We pretend we learn, pretend we improve, pretend we made progress, pretend we care, pretend we contribute, pretend we made some achievements. How well do we see ourselves in playing our part in building this earth? What about our achievement? Comparing to the earth''s origin, is our achievement something worth being proud of? Meaningful achievements are good, but attaining it and indirectly harms the earth, it is by no means useless. We brag around for achievements we made but never even care to look back how much harm have we left behind.
It is indeed very obvious that we are no better when compared to our ancestors. With proper, one may assume, education we have, we rely on big and heavy machineries, polluting air, sound and even water, to build something which is not even impressive in the eyes of a pyramid builder.
Yet, history is here to stay. To make fun of us. To laugh at us. To show us that thousands of years have gone by, and what we get is global warming, a major global warning it will be if we do not start doing something good towards this earth we owe almost everything to. History is here to stay to beg us to harm the earth no more as the earth has too much to bear.
Why history? Only when we know the origin, our achievements, progress we made on ourselves, contributions and changes we made on the earth, we are able to at least understand which is good and which is bad. With this knowledge and painful experience we gained, we are able to merge the good thinhave now with the condition of our earth before this.