History defines self. Think of the amnesiac, and his lack of personality, his search to find himself. He does not know who he is or how to relate to those around him. He has lost his identity. In order to become an individual, he cannot rely on his personality type or the circumstances he finds himself in. What he can do is take action. Not whether he has a drunk father, but how he chooses to relate to that dad is what defines him. This choice becomes his history.
The world’s history is a colossal Spiritus Mundi, the soul of the universe. It is the collective memory of all people, and he who has it in his grasp has the wisdom of the ages at his feet. For knowing the choices that led to the collapse of a golden empire, and the ones that led to the creation of a democratic republic is vital to personal decision making.
For example, I read The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli not because I am destined to rule principalities but because reading his instructions teaches me to think with his cold logic. Later, when I am club president and must make decisions in such a way as to remain in power, I can refer to the hours I spent in deep thought over Machiavellian philosophy.
Speaking of The Prince, history is important to politics and economics: the well being of a country. Machiavelli uses the example of past rulers like Cesare Borgia on which to base his own instructions. When the founding fathers of the United States gathered together at the Philadelphia Convention to draw up the Constitution, they examined the failures of different political systems, and created a new blueprint which would tackle each fatal flaw of the Roman Republic, etc. And when different countries unite together in an organization like the UN, it is crucial that they share the collective memory of history. How are they to make decisions but by pointing to the evidence of the past?
However, history impacts even the most mundane aspects of life. You may be devastated over being fired or botching an important orchestra audition or even having to wash the dishes twice because the dishwasher malfunctioned, but looking at the ups and downs of George Washington’s life, one learns to see things in perspective. Our first president led a ragtag bunch of farmers to war, pitting their skill against the most powerful navy in the world. They were defeated many times, and were constantly miserable and cold, but did this stop them? No! When the colonists won the Revolutionary War, the country sunk into a deep depression, and the federal government was dissed by the states. Washington must have had issues with fine lines and premature aging, but did that stop him? No! He became president and kept our country on its feet. It gives one hope when those dishes just won’t get clean.
The Christian Church. The US government. The army. The world market. Paper money. The fire department. Science. All of these have improved over time as people discovered flaws in each system. Fire may have been discovered by a Stone Age caveman, and we may laugh at that caveman for living in caves and running around naked, but he did not have the history we have at our fingertips. His “external memory” was limited. Wanna be more than a caveman? Wanna gain power? Wanna have the success of Solomon? Gain wisdom, and gain it by learning your history.
Farewell, farewell. Yours truly,
Amelia
So thats why they DON’T teach history in public schools