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HISTORY - OUR PAST TIME REVISITED
Marian Baltazar
Class of 1980, University of the Philippines College of Manila
AB Political Science
Every mankind has its own history and we can consider it as our past time revisited. It is an account of events
that are narrated and arranged in a chronological manner which actually deals with the past of mankind. As
Aristotle defines it, it is a systematic account of a set of natural phenomena and as E. H. Carn defined history, it
is an “unending dialogue between the present and the past.” History is very important then because we draw
conclusions from our past events. Through history, we learn a lot of things from our past, enabling us to study
lessons derived from itwhich actually help us avoid the pitfalls of the present.
History broadens our outlook and it enables one to grasp one’s relationship with one’s past. A very good
example will be how our flags came about and what do the symbols and colors for it stand for. It definitely has
its own origins and stories. History, per se, deals with our past time that transpired way, way back when things
and people originally started and what their outcome is right now. Actually, it makes it easier for us to have a
record of events so we could review and check what happened in the past.
By means of knowing and learning history, we would never repeat the same mistakes which occurred. This
frees us of committing the same mistakes so we could understand people, things and events in every aspect of
life.History is mainly a very important thing, so we could understand the world better, how it was even before
our existence today. It can be an aide or even a panacea to everything that we see at present, based on what
happened during the past. It is very true that people learn from their mistakes and past experiences.
One of the very important reasons why history is important is for us to learn to appreciate who we are and how
people became such persons. If we are not aware and do not know all the struggles, trials and tribulations that
people before us underwent (no matter who they are), we will never be able to learn to be grateful for how
things have become because of them. We all have different cultures, different values, characteristics and
ambitions in life. Therefore, our points of view differ from each other. If we learn each other’s history, then we
could learn to understand one another better and avoid things that will harm and hurt people.
Moreover, history will make us understand the different cultures and races of the people. It also makes us
understand why the countries all over the world have different rules and different types of government.
Studying history will help people in becoming more flexible to change for the better. These are only some of
the reasons why History is very important. I am sure that we have reasons each to its own on why it is
significant in a person’s life.
Let us learn to appreciate each other’s lives even more so we could live harmoniously with one another. To
make it simple, History equips us to handle things in a better perspective in these present times and it enables
us to prepare for a better future. Indeed, when we talk of History, we can consider it as our past time revisited.
Questions for discussion:
1. Can history help us a lot in many ways? How?
2. Do you consider history and drool with it to extract something very important? What will that be?
3. Have you tried to recall all the incidents that happened in your life? Is it a very crucial part of your own
history?
4. Can history best describe a country or even a person? Justify your answer.
5. Do you agree that history is our past time revisited? Why or why not?