In defence of high school history

I’m sure we’ll all familiar with that popular school kid adage – if we have to forgive and forget then why learn history? Well, I’m afraid the answer isn’t quite as irreverent as it is made out to be but actually merits a great deal of thought and deliberation. Why indeed? What is so special about burying oneself in a corner of the room overwhelmed with dates that nobody remembers and names that nobody wants to? The education ministries of the world aren’t sadistic or genocidal, after all, even though they seem to be when we are taking our Board exams or O Levels. The answers are complex and not entirely comprehensible within one short essay but one must begin somewhere, so I shall try and highlight some salient causes for the inclusion of history in our otherwise happy lives.

The most basic definition of history is that it is a study of the past. The past is what we base our future on. It is the skeleton on which to assemble the organism of our tomorrows. Before composing poetry, one must learn how to read and write; before regaling amphitheatres with one’s voice, one must understand the grammar of music; before inventing great machines which revolutionise lives one must know what cogs and wires are. Similarly, prior to constructing grand visions and charting out a course of action for what is to come, we must be informed of all that came before. A thorough map of already traversed paths and used systems will govern our application of those ideas and devices to the present and, later, to the future.

Another reason to study history intimately is to have the education of errors. Mistakes made in the past mustn’t be repeated. This has to be taken care of, else, all human socio-cultural evolution must go waste. The philosopher, Georg Hegel posited that history comprises thesis – that which occurs; antithesis – that which opposes the occurrence and finally, the synthesis – the ultimate resolution of the conflict into a tangible manifestation along a linear pattern of space and time. The syntheses that have taken place in the time before ours must be assessed and evaluated to have their operation exposed – how they came about and the forces that shaped those instances. Whether it is war, rebellion, social and economic upheavals or even popular culture and folklore – history is an amalgam of all of these and must be discovered through all these factors which constitute it through this Hegelian logic. It will enlighten us to the anatomy of our shared legacy.

To fully plumb the depths of and appreciate the levels to which our ancestors had achieved excellence, one must be conversant with the heritage of one’s people and race – the human race. The Pyramids which throw their majestic shadow across Egyptian deserts or the Taj Mahal, an eerie and sad tribute to life and love – both are testimony to the skill and strength of those from whom we are descended. The grave scriptures of the Orient and the sophisticated science of the Occident, have through the centuries, enthralled and amazed. The acme of accomplishment that our foreparents have attained should not only awe and inspire us but instil in us pride for their magniloquence and our good fortune to reap what they have sown, culturally, spiritually, intellectually and even physically. The dawn of civilisation has left imprints in the form of history and it’s important to celebrate them.

What history can help us in achieving is open to debate and quite arguable.

In one sense, history imparts to us a context and manydetails to base any opinion on and thus conditions us to think wisely and completely. Whether we think Marxism was good or bad can only be inferred once we’ve read The Communist Manifesto and fathomed it. Consequently, we will decide whether we are with it or against it and then become more conscious of the choices and decisions we make vis-à-vis this particular belief. On the other hand, we might take these opinions to extremes and exaggerate our devotion to Marxism and morph into militant leftists. Thus, while history can lay bare before us facts dispassionately, it is ultimately up to us how we react to the discoveries and information. History can tell, it cannot teach.

Often people don’t learn from their mistakes and history is rendered useless. For example, in 1994 genocide in Rwanda ripped the country apart and the whole world watched without saying a word. That was a gross error, true. In 2006, the crisis in Darfur escalated to genocidal proportions and again, the world is watching. Yet another error? Is it pardonable? Of course not. History did warn us of the results of our apathy but it was we who chose not to listen. This is the limit of history – to stop where personal ethics begin. But again, history does do its duty in rankling us every morning when we open the newspaper or switch on the telly – it reminds us and taunts and shames us into drawing out the memory of the horrific catastrophe so that, little by little, much more voices than ever rose then are rising up now. Such is the power of history – to force conscience.

Finally, the most potent tool that history wields is the timeline and tapestry of human development to draw from. The resources and ramifications – moral and mental and menial – which abound for us to extract diligently and use sagaciously are many. A throbbing library of faces, places, time and space resides within us and within the environment around us. History isn’t about forgiving and forgetting, it is about living the present better than we lived the past and bettering the future with wisdom from both.

Perhaps the most startling and direct contact with history often comes in odd ways. For me, it was when I visited the caves at Ajanta and Ellora and ran my hands across the sculpted divinities and people and pageantry set in rock forever. As my fingers touched the cold stone, electricity crackled through them, as if transmitting the wonder and hard work, across centuries, of fellow tourists and the artists who had created the masterpieces. As if the pain staking perfectionism of the seventh century craftsmen toiling away in the glow of sunset; the joy and admiration of tenth century Persian scholars as they gazed upon the marvel and the excitement that thrilled through a twenty first century teenager were the exactly the same.

And perhaps, just perhaps, they were.