What's in it for me? Why We Should Study History

It began in grade school – our questioning the logic behind hard or tedious work.  “Why do I have to learn algebra?”  “When will I ever need to diagram a sentence?”  We are hard-wired to weigh the benefit we will receive against the effort we will expend.

Now that we are no longer tested on our academic knowledge, what is the point of reading a biography or watching a documentary? What is the benefit?

As a to-the-bone history nerd, I would argue, “Because it is fun, and history is awesome!”  However, I am fully aware that there are few people in this world who would sit on a sunset beach in Kauai and think what it must have been like for James Cook to see the island for the first time.  While I am guessing that you have at least minimal interest in history since you are reading this article, let me dig slightly deeper than my all-consuming passion for the past.

Karl Marx wrote, “Keep people from their history, and they will be easily controlled.”  Therein lies the communist motivation behind removing history that is uncomfortable.  In 2015, I had the incredible opportunity of visiting China with my parents.  I was amazed walking through the Imperial City and the Summer Palace.  The beauty of the architecture and the richness of the history made me want to learn more about China’s dynasties.  China, however, made a hard stop when it came to showcasing modern history.

Our guide through Beijing was a delightfully knowledgeable and sweet lady named Grace, just a year older than I.  She grew up in Beijing and lived close the center of the city – Tiananmen Square.  Curiosity in our group led someone to ask her what she remembered about the massacre of 2,000 students in the square in 1989.  She responded that she knew nothing, although she was twelve years old and lived a mere two blocks away.  I find that hard to believe.  The noise made by tanks and machine guns could easily be heard from the distance of two blocks.  If you watch the video of “Tank Man” on YouTube, the sound of shooting is clearly distinguishable.

Grace’s answer is not unusual.  Of the dozen or more Chinese exchange students I have taught in my career, only one has known about the Tiananmen Massacre before coming to America, and that was because his dad was a soldier at the square.  I have even had a student argue with me that the tragedy never happened because he would have heard about it in China if it had.

So, what is my point?

History preserves our freedom.  Ignoring history shuts us off from knowing what made us who we are.  The good and the bad are a part of our story.  If we choose to shut our eyes, we will make the same mistakes of the past because we won’t remember why they were mistakes in the first place.

For freedom’s sake, learn history.