Are we so quick to forget history?

1. 79

   coleikerdposted 12 years ago

   Are we so quick to forget history?
   
   More and more I see people ignoring the lessons of history. We tend to defend what we believe despite information to the contrary. Worse yet, when faced with that information, we get angry and defensive and refuse to consider anything new. Does the desire to be right supersede a desire for truth? Is it that we truly do not remember the lessons of the past? Are we simply acting out of fear and forgetting what we know?
   
   Why do we leave the lessons of the past behind and trudge forward to repeat past mistakes?

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2. 61

   Josakposted 12 years ago

   I think the issue is more that people interpret history differently.

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3. 0

   ahorsebackposted 12 years ago

   I don't tink we  are so quick to forget our history as much as we are lazy about learning ALL of our history !  I recall grade school ,junior high and highschool  , learningg little bits about a lot of history .  I personally have learned far far more  as an adult !  There is nothing better than listening to all sides and making your own judgements about the truth  !

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4. 0

   Larry Wallposted 12 years ago

   The issue, as I see it, is that we concentrate too much on the events and do not pay enough attention to the circumstances preceding, accompanying or following the event and how those events were affected by other events.
   
   Despite our new and advance technology, the history books of the future will always have gaps, mistakes or inconsistencies. This is because no one person is writing the history book that will be used 100 years from now. Instead, they will draw information from the "primitive sources" we use today and sometimes, they will get the wrong impression of what was happening and why it was happening. In addition, there is so much contradiction written today about what is happening it is going to be hard for future generations to sort it out, just as it is difficult for us to sort out what really happened in earlier centuries.

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5. 60

   Dennis AuBuchonposted 12 years ago

   This is a great subject.  History is a great teacher but we tend to try the same things over and over again that have failed to work in various situations and not use the things that have worked.

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6. 60

   chef-de-jourposted 12 years ago

   Well, yes, sometimes it is easier to forget or ignore the lessons of the past primarily because being human, weakness of will and ruthless ambition still prevail. The moral compass is always changing.
   
   There are examples both bad and good.
   
   Take the USA for instance. Guantanamo Bay enclosure - it is now known that torture has taken place, of innocent people - torture intended to gain information that would help GOOD prevail!!!!! Work that one out from a moral perspective!!!
   
   As a Britain who had a father fight in the second world war I appreciate the fact that Europe has got its act together and made certain commitments that will not allow a fascist dictator to ever again dominate the continent. We hope!! Europe has learnt lessons from the past in the sense that there are now binding treaties and protocols deterring those who would dominate militarily.
   
   
   
   
   
   Being

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