History as Our Guide

I utterly cringe whenever I hear the statement that history does not matter. "What's the use of that useless knowledge?" Besides quoting random facts and sayings, it holds a particular key advantage.

The lives of past men and women has a tremendous impact on who we are today. Anything that we do or say hinged upon the lives of people that have gone before us. Let me further explain. Why do teens act counterculture at times? Why do they where shirts that mock mainstream society? Well, we can trace that back to the 1960's rebellion of the Baby Boomer generations, who can trace that back to Rock and Roll of the 50's, who can trace that back to women working, etc.

Our philosophy on life is shaped by the past. The fact that people can question an authority can be linked to (as I would firmly argue) Martin Luther's Reformation. People were able to question what the hierarchies told them, which gave birth to Modern Science and then the Enlightenment. If we can understand the rudimentary nature of all these events we can then understand ourselves better. We as Americans have a distinct heritage of freedom and of liberty. We are inherently equal (as Jefferson would state); however, that equality came about through the writings of John Locke. Locke argued the equality part and against the divine right of kings for a reason.

We can be inspired by those who have gone before us. We can take hope in the story of Luther's courageous stand at Worms. We can thirst for knowledge like Socrates. We can spread joy and creativity if we learn from Shakespeare. Our Western Heritage is based upon the lives of millions of influential people, both those who are famous and the common man who worked hard for a living. The "proletariat" (as Marx would say) gave everyone a chance to become great. We learn from history, and hopefully glean successes and take heed in failures.