Introduction
History is beneficial to humankind when used correctly and with clear facts to make decisions that can help humanity. However, some people misinterpret the past through their own opinions or perceptions, leading to severe consequences. Reasonably, individuals always want to write and create their own stories, even though some of the tales are never true, to make sure that they make a significant contribution to the future. Individuals use history to better understand themselves; however, they sometimes do it wrong, leading to new mistakes. History links the past and the future; it enhances culture and heritage and helps the future generation to know about their past.
Use and Abuse of the Past
People use monumental history to build the future and ensure mistakes of the past are not repeated and communities are free from the burden of previous mistakes. Monumental history is for the individuals with deeds and powers that they can fight for good justice among various communities (Kaal and van Lottum 136). In such a way, the monumental history is used not to flourish itself but to the benefit of a nation or humankind. For this reason, it is becoming an essential guideline for various generations.
Following lessons from the past and doing good to others, individuals appeal to the monumental history and become a part of it simultaneously. From this perspective, it helps to motivate various groups by proving that some examples should be followed while others should be forgotten or avoided. For this reason, individuals might try to simplify or omit some events to ensure the motifs or their actions are not overcomplicated (Kaal and van Lottum 139). It makes history a critical issue; however, it also creates the basis for speculations.
In most cases, people refer to decisions communities made in the past to improve their current state and avoid new mistakes. For instance, antiquarian history makes people feel great and justified in their present existence. Reasonably, history must be perverted once more and put into practice for people to learn from for the betterment of the future (Kaal and van Lottum 140). However, there are numerous examples of how people prefer to disregard past experiences, especially if they confront current views. The new demands and peculiarities of societies impact the emergence of new values while history is becoming adapted to them. For instance, the movie Shameless Propaganda outlines the unpleasant events in the history of Canada and how they were highlighted by the media (Lower). Thus, internment camps created to relocate Japanese Canadians during the war were presented as delightful places, while in fact, it was a legal way to discriminate against people against their race (Lower). Today, history is abused as the same things can be observed in camps for refugees from the Middle East. Society prefers to forget its past and repeat similar actions, promoting a specific attitude accepted by the majority. It leads to new mistakes and misinterpretations critical for the future evolution of the world.
Moreover, individuals judge history by bringing it into their tribunal and expelling it. For instance, MacMillan says that the past can offer simplicity when the present is chaotic and bewildering (21). By referring to the past events, individuals can apply the same judgments as they contributed to positive outcomes. However, in the modern world, they might not work and result in the appearance of problematic issues.
Abuse of history can also be seen in the ways people interact and build new relations at different levels. For instance, the law has always been viewed as the critical factor regulating the functioning of social institutions and interactions within a particular group. Moreover, leaders always try to compare themselves with outstanding figures from the past, which adds value to them (MacMillan 22). However, it is vital to remember that the laws and regulations used by them were not always fair and sometimes even discriminatory. As a result, they acted from the perspective of a person of that period of history, while today, it might be unacceptable. This misuse of history and disregard for justice might result in the emergence of dangerous precedents undermining the fundamental values of the modern world. For this reason, it becomes vital to consider lessons of the past and avoid using the same perspective on resolving problems. Otherwise, it might lead to new conflicts that will become a part of history.
The increased importance of history today also indicates that the modern age is comparatively old, and humanity has witnessed numerous events which influenced its evolution. Looking back, individuals try to understand how communities developed and what mistakes were made. However, there is also a place for speculations and wrong conclusions regarding past events, which shaped people’s mentalities. For instance, MacMillan speaks about nationalists who viewed their race as the most important one (44). The belief was not dangerous at the start; however, it evolved into the idea of the exceptionality of a certain group with the right to depress others (MacMillan 44). Today, the given ideas are judged because of the dominance of humanistic values and tolerance; however, there are still some ideas of dominance and the superiority of individuals, which can be viewed as the abuse of history and misinterpretation of facts. It might result in repeating old mistakes that emerged due to the disregard for history.
Moreover, the attempts to present some past events from another angle become more dangerous than ignoring lessons learned from history. MacMillan emphasizes that any incentive aimed at reconsidering history is risky as it might result in changes in people’s mentalities and new critical issues (MacMillan 76). Under these conditions, it becomes vital to avoid any attempts to abuse history and use it as a tool to justify certain policies or alter the context applied to decision-making today.
Importance of Being Aware of How to Write History
History helps to develop a good understanding of the world by focusing on those events that have happened, whether good or bad. It is from these good and bad things that individuals learn so that they can write history for the future of the new generation. Reasonably, people write something that they understand, what has happened in their lives, and how well it has influenced their lives and others (Bertossi et al. 4157). MacMillan also assumes that in writing history, it is vital to avoid subjective ideas, or they will be misinterpreted in the future (87). This move will help write something meaningful so that when the children of the future read about history, they will get more knowledge to build a better society.
Furthermore, writing down history will always remind individuals of who they are. Reasonably, most people will always understand themselves when they start analyzing their lives and decisions. Conversely, between life events, the person will understand how certain circumstances affected their lives positively or negatively (Bertossi et al. 4161). The same ideas can be linked to global relations and intercourse. MacMillan assumes that the history of humanity can be viewed as a mirror showing all good and bad things and helping to understand how society evolved (99). For this reason, it is necessary to write it credibly; otherwise, the final image will be corrupted.
In writing down history, it is always essential to do broad research on what has happened to people and how well it can help to next generations. Reasonably, it leads to a better understanding of culture, and this helps others to improve global cooperation and reduce conflicts. History is more than just a way to learn about a particular nation, ethnic heritage, and lineage. It is also a supportive tool for understanding others and their values. Books on global, national, and regional history assist in comprehending how civilizations interact and evolve (Bertossi et al. 4163). At the same time, MacMillan states that history might help to understand with whom people have to deal and cooperate (99). It means that the accurate representation of facts is vital for mutually beneficial relations between individuals in the future.
From another perspective, people always learn how to make good decisions that will help them through history. The most effective way to accomplish this task is to read other examples and analyze them. Under these conditions, providing false information about past events might be dangerous as it will corrupt decision-making in the future (MacMillan 101). From this perspective, it becomes critical to ensure the history is recorded correctly with no subjective judgments. By writing down history, people will always learn how to approach problems and make good decisions to solve them problem.
How Historians Represent the Past Today
Regrettably, many academics regard themselves as social engineers so that they can still write new ideas without consulting the past. To achieve their objectives, they are altering or reinterpreting history. One of the most common errors is judging historical personalities based on their current value or circumstances. Historians should be enthusiastic about history and able to perceive the world through the eyes of the people who lived in the past, taking into account all of the factors that influenced their decisions. Historical persons and events should not be judged outside of their historical context.
In the current world, specialists write more about interviews, films, the recording of music, clothing, and the building. Contrasting to the past, the past only focused on the pictures of the great political leaders in the early years by not focusing on other events such as the interviews. The written history does not highlight how events took place, for instance, during the colonial period. At the same time, more attention is given to social aspects and people’s attitudes to specific events, which helps to understand societies better.
Most historians are biased when it comes to people of different races. Reasonably, they assume that these people of other races are not of great importance and thus never write history about them. Previously, little attention was given to minorities and their problems. For instance, Black people argued that the current approach to Canada’s history does not reveal their contribution to the country’s growth (MacMillan 29). Today, this approach is being changed as new approaches emerge. Specialists delve into how various societies evolved regarding all individuals and their role in the evolution of specific relations. Addressing these issues in a new manner, historians acquire the opportunity to help new generations to succeed in the future and avoid critical problems.
However, there is also a dangerous tendency toward adding new meanings to the events of the past. MacMillan warns that using labels linked to history might be a potent way to protect a certain position; however, it might also lead to numerous misinterpretations and the establishment of an erroneous vision (87). Unfortunately, today there are attempts to avoid unpleasant issues or represent them from a different angle to minimize shame. This approach to writing down history might stipulate the emergence of false representations and corrupt the clear image of history.
Conclusion
In conclusion, history should be encompassed as it helps people to understand themselves, enables them to make significant decisions, and understand other’s cultures. It gives a green light on what should be done so that future generation is not affected. Reasonably, when writing history, societies should always be familiar with what they are writing so that they do not give false information, as the past will be recorded. It will be of great importance when they read a history of facts and history that will positively influence their lives. When the history is published and recorded, it will remain on the internet, and people will access it.
Works Cited
Bertossi, Christophe, et al. “Past in the Present: Migration and the Uses of History in the Contemporary Era.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 47, no. 18, 2021, pp. 4155-4171.
Kaal, Harm, and Jelle van Lottum. “Applied History: Past, Present, and Future.” Journal of Applied History, vol. 3, no. 1-2, 2021, pp. 135-154.
Lower, Robert, director. Shameless Propaganda. NFB, 2013.
MacMillan, Margaret. The Uses and Abuses of History. Penguin, 2008.