The Uses And Misuses Of History, Spring 2005

Andy Wilson

The Uses and Misuses of History History is the recording and interpretation of past events. It is a tool that helps us as human beings understand ourselves and our place in the world. It tells us: who we are by knowing who our forebears were, how to evaluate our actions by examining those of the past and how to understand where we are by knowing where we came from. We should view history not as a road map showing exactly where we are going, because human nature is far too erratic for us to make any concrete visions for the future. Instead we should take the past lessons that have been learned and examine them to see if they have any bearing in our modern lives. We must study history and learn from its greatest tragedies as well as triumphs. As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it” but Hegel may have been more accurate when he observed that if history teaches one thing it is that no one learns from history. As stated before history is not a road map, it cannot show us exactly what we should do. Its greatest use is as a teacher; a teacher with a cornucopia of different human experiences, or lessons, which should be examined and possibly applied to our modern and future problems. But history has not always taught man lessons; in fact it has been used as a weapon for some of our most evil acts. Some men have twisted history to support their own ideals or to further their desires. Other’s interpretations have, unbeknownst to the author, caused widespread hardship and catastrophe for others. An example of the first

would be Hitler’s interpretation of history and the second would be Marx’s theory of history. Hitler’s theory of a master race came from a much distorted view of history. He believed that the Aryan race, blonde haired blue eyed, where descendants of the survivors of Atlantis. These supposed blonde, blue eyed survivors had left Atlantis and conquered Northern India. Form this he believed that the blonde haired blue eyed people of the world were superior to all of the others. For Hitler this belief justified the extermination of the Jews and others he deemed unfit. History was distorted by Hitler and his henchmen and used as a weapon against the Jews and any group that stood in his way. Marx’s theory of history initial did not have the evil intentions that Hitler’s had, but as other people interpreted its meaning in their own way, it took on a much more sinister turn. Marx believed that history was founded not on ideas as Hegel believed but instead on material things. As man advanced technologically his lot improved, but Marx felt that until all men controlled the means of production they would not truly be free. Marxism stayed as simply an idea until the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, when Lenin and Trotsky’s communist forces seized power in Russia. They then put into motion one of the bloodiest regimes the world has ever seen, all based on an interpretation of history. History can be used for good as well as evil. It should always be used as a teacher or a kind of guide who can give us past examples to help us make educated decisions. But there will always be those who try and interpret history along their own lines and in the end harness history’s power not for good but for evil. History is a vital human idea, it will always tell us where we came from and help us get where we are going.