Much has been said and written about history and its importance in human life. There are thinkers who believe that it is impossible to live without history and everyone must remember it so as to have better future. However, it is always debatable whether remembering history can really benefit us in making our future.
History is the record of past events. Since human beings have memory and since they started having the capacity to record events in the written form, they started forming history. The records of all the events that are available in black and white basically form our history and there are many who believe it to be source of unlimited knowledge for us. Though, these records support us in understanding the people of the past, their ways of living, their beliefs and cultures and so many other details but considering that they can support us in designing our present and past are raw assumptions.
History is present in records and this very fact raises questions about its authenticity. The main problem about proving that an action really happened in past is that we cannot replay it. We just have something written about it. Now, who had written that something and did he really write the fact that actually happened? Was he not biased about what he had written, not influenced by someone else, not forced to write what he wrote? Thus, it is really difficult to justify whether the records show the true picture.
For example, in past the glorious kings had their own historians who were paid to write about the glories of the kings and their kingdoms. They neither had the courage nor the motivation to write the fact and realities. All they used to write were to glorify the kings not to record the events for the future generations to know the reality. The few who dared to write anything against them had to face severe consequences.
In similar fashion different nations have written their histories the way they have wanted. They have always strived to exaggerate their successes in the past and strived to delete the realities that have resulted in their loss or humiliation. Therefore, there are different interpretations of the same historical event and it is really difficult to find which one depicts the reality. Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code highlights the same reality, “History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?”
It can be observed as well that nations, in the memory of their glorious past, tend to neglect their present. They keep on focusing about past and praising the same instead of being practical and striving to change their fate in present. Our example (of Muslims) in this regard is very much relevant. Some of us keep on remembering the past wherein Muslims had the glory and great achievements in science, arts and statesmanship. However, in the process we fail to realize the fact that today we are far away from what we used to be and something needs to be done about it in the present. Remembering glorious past does not bring glory, we have to work hard for it, be practical and change ourselves, our societies and our destinies. Steve Maraboli has rightly said, “Today is a new day. Don't let your history interfere with your destiny! Let today be the day you stop being a victim of your circumstances and start taking action towards the life you want. You have the power and the time to shape your life. Break free from the poisonous victim mentality and embrace the truth of your greatness. You were not meant for a mundane or mediocre life!”
Another mistake that certain people and historians make is to bicker upon the minor details regarding the incidents in history. As there are different interpretations of history and different details about the same incidents, there are differences among different individuals or groups of individuals. All of them think and even believe that they are right while others are wrong. They even insist that others should change their views according to them. This even results in serious clashes and even wars. The same can be found among the believers of different religions and even the believers of different sects in the same religion. And, what has been the outcome is not hidden from anyone. Christopher Paolini, regarding the same reality, has quoted beautifully, “People have an annoying habit of remembering things they shouldn't.”
Thus, it should be understood by all the sensible human beings that history is not always the truth. The different interpretations, different biases and considerations, pressures and greed, political inclinations and religious beliefs have all contributed in designing the history; therefore, it is not always the true picture of the events that really occurred and there are only limited ways of proving the facts in history. Bill Watterson says, “History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.”
The only way history can be beneficial to a certain extent is when we are able to see it with wider perspective; analyzing the different interpretations and avoiding being biased. Believing history blindly can only make us more extremists and make our opinions and actions more distant from reality.