Reading History

Whoever is accredited with the philosophical quip “ignorant heads read only the past in history, wise ones also read the future” understands that which many view as the most salient purpose for study of the past--application of the belief that one will discover who he is and what he is becoming by discovering what he has been.

Humankind continues to build upon a foundation laid and developed by the two million years’ worth of generations that have proceeded us. Every person who has ever lived upon the planet has been part of a family, which has been part of a society, which has been part of a civilization that has contributed to the intricate scheme of life and brought us to where we are today. Be they an ancient American maize farmer who endorsed staple crop viability, or a Roman statesman who enslaved whole nations, whether more beneficial or more detrimental, their inevitable impact left a mark that, in some form or another, has forever effected everything.

With this in mind, “the power of one” becomes an infinitely fascinating concept. Concerning our forebears, every person represented a vital piece of the puzzle. Nobody lived, died and was buried without spreading some influence, however seemingly intangible. This optimistically reinforces the idea that, despite how staggeringly insignificant one feels, the role he or she plays in the world, in some way, makes a difference. Furthermore, because we control our place and decide our own destiny, it is within our power to determine what difference we wish to make. (Interesting setup!)

But, truly “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Aspects of the past such as developments, evolutions, proceedings, choices, beliefs, practices, institutions, and wars, are irreversible, but foretell to what our tendencies may lead. So, with our inherent free agency and capacity for self-direction, where the assertion “ignorant heads read only the past in history, wise ones also read the future” is correct, we have the advantage of hindsight to guide our critical decisions. Observation of trends yields invaluable insight. Exploration of a varying plethora of cultures enriches the soul. We may examine successes and failures, problems and solutions, sacrifices and indulgences, order and anarchy, conflict and cooperation, movement and fixation, triumphs and defeats, and numberless other factors effecting the past and, by implication, the present. Current issues perpetually highlight the vitality of this natural empowerment! For instance, why Arabs derogatorily refer to Americans as infidels is answerable through investigation of the United States’ previous relations with the Middle East.

Consistently then, as Faulkner asserts, “The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past.” Through use of our precious ability of retrospection, we better understand the world and we better understand ourselves. This is the value of correctly reading history!

Therefore, as the future replicates the past, history governs our everyday existence as the entity through which humankind monitors its progression during its short stay on Earth and opts for particular courses of action. Approaching life with perspective oriented in this acknowledgment, our ancestral heritage places us in the midst of a colorful and enthralling story wherein much as been foreshadowed, but we ultimately write the ending--essentially finding our own identity along the way.