TwoCents | History: An antidote to man's ridiculous mistakes and excuses.

It was George Santayana who mentioned that we must welcome the future, remembering that soon it will be the past , and we must respect the past remembering that it was once all that was humanly possible. Life can be likened to a journey of a trillion miles and whoever that is ready to embark on this journey must be well equipped with the knowledge of the past so as not to be ignorant of the present. Imagining a world where there was no meticulous recordings of past human experiences, cultures, traditions, ideologies, among other fragmentary evidences of man's perspective of his society is enough to make the concept of imagination itself archaic. This is because such a world would have been boring, uneventful and uninteresting. It would have been a world of emptiness; where humans have no direction and understanding of who they really are, where they came from and where they are headed. According to Edward Hallett Crr, history is a dialogue between the present and the past. In addition, Voltaire noted that the first foundation of all history are the recitals of the fathers to the children, transmitted afterwards from one generation to another. Mankind will continue to live in ignorance and mistakes without maintaining quality relations with its history. and heritage. It is true that not everyone likes history or finds it useful. However, the acceptance or rejection of history does not limit its Implications on every society. Acceptance of the fundamental role of history in a society provides the people with a compass of present and future prospects while the opposite according to James Joyce, remains a nightmare from which people are trying to awake. Overall, any society that does not prioritize the study of its history is doomed to making mistakes that will continue to hunt its people and relegate its cultural, political and economic significance. Little wonder, in his masterpiece entitled - "The Life of Reason," George Santayana adumbrated thus: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The study and lessons of history helps us understand our true identities, our origin and heritage. It connects us with our root and gives us insight into our present challenges. History provides man with practical solutions to societal challenges. It imbuilds in those who connect with iit, analytical and interpretative skills and abilities to comprehend what, why, when and how events occur as well as what can be done to either avert or welcome.them. In all, it is important to note that history is not mere fictional stories about the dead and the living;, rather, it is man's guide and companion to his future.

Other insights from Asiogu Ugochukwu