Why do we waste money teaching history? No one learns from it.?

C

cymry3jones

New member
Afghanistan has been attacked/invaded by Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Tsarist Russia, the British Empire, the Soviet Union and now NATO. With no success whatsoever.
During the paranoia of the 'Cold War', the USA and the UK trained guerrillas to go unto Afghanistan and fight against the Soviet troops.
Both these countries are pretty could at training and Osama bin Laden learnt his lessons well, but why should the Afghan people suffer, and why does NATO think they can succeed where others have failed?
Good, not could.
Korky, are you for real? I said nothing about Muslims.
You probably should not study history, because you will never learn that if youo tread people underfoot for centuries, then there's a good chance they might just fight back.
Afghanistan is special. Only a small minority of Muslims are terrorists. Probably a fewer number than those so-called Christians, who seem to think the Jesus said, 'Spread my word, and if the don't accept it, kill the bastards.'
 
I agree that politicians never seem to learn from history, and that the current fiasco in Afghanistan is a fine example. Don't argue from this, however, that teaching the subject is a waste. At least you and I know the realities!
 
"Without learning the mistakes of the past we are doomed to repeat it"
not only this imagine a world were no one knows history we would have no idea were we came from or what has changed and what to value. it would be a world of ignorance.
 
Thats the problem with how history is taught. People are taught what happened in the past, but not necessarily why it happened, how it affected the common person in the street, and most importantly, what is the relevance to young people today.
 
A very cynical way of looking at things but very true in many respects.

Every generation believes that they know better than previous ones and go on to make the mistakes.

However, that's not the main reason we learn history. We can learn a lot from the past. What we do have to learn is how to use that knowledge.
 
Those who do not learn from history are fools. We need only look at the World Wars to know this. Had we not imposed such heavy sanctions on post-WWI Germany we would never see the rise of the Nazi regime. Learning of communism helps us combat it. Learning of the friction between the West and Middle East should mean that we should have resolved our differences years ago.

But not only politics. The former South African Coat of Arms is a complex one, and studying the history behind it helps understand its composition and the history od the Republic.

In Cape Town the Khoisan, a indigenous tribe opposes the sale of state land claiming it as their ancestal land. Understanding their history helps explain the matter, although it is difficult and complex as most of the Khoi have been absorbed into the Coloured race, a mix of European, West African, Malay, Indonesian and Madagascan peoples. The land in question then belongs to any one of the above, doesn't it?

I am trying to crete my own distinct crest. Understanding my family history can help me give it meaning instead of creating a heraldic disaster.

You're no fool, are you?
 
And i was thinking this was a question about teaching history to children in school,so they could learn about how things happened and why.
 
I agree on certain statements you make, to a degree. It is adventurism that spurs nations to try again. It is economics, it is ego. Because someone else could not do it, does not mean that the great us cannot do it. That is us, not U.S.
I think it is part of a well rounded education. One person said it is taught wrong. It is. When I taught history at college, I taught why things happened. Why did the mongols start moving, why did the huns, etc.
It is not interesting if you are not interested in it.
But using your example, I should never have wasted my time in college on Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, and various Phys Ed classes.
So we must not totally discount a subject because some people do not learn from it. Every High School and College demand four years of English. Look on this site. How many people use it? Should we do away with it?
What I have found is that the ones that do learn from history never end up in elected office where they can make a change.
 
your right in saying that NATO/America/Britain have learnt little from the history of Afghanistan, it has never been beaten,and to beat these terrorists we need to stop them entering our borders and setting of bombs deport all known and suspected terror supporters,if it means removing all the Muslims in Britain I say do it,close our borders to them all including Pakistan until it can guarantee terrorist aren't getting through. what dose either of these country's offer Britain other than unneeded immigrants keep them and their bombs out of Britain.

Cymbre, you say only a few Afghans are Muslim I beg to differ, you say I shouldn't study history ?
well you have never had the experience of facing terrorist or seen at first hand what a bomb can do I have, I agree that history has not taught us how to beat these terrorist's in their own back yard, but if we didn't invite them into ours we wouldn't have to would we ? all those involved in 7/7 and 7/11
what religion were they then ?
 
It's good to know where we came from. If we don't learn about the mistakes society has made we wouldn't be able to know what NOT to do.
You do have a great point though; Dwelling on the past dooms us to repeat it. When a difficult situation comes up and we don't know how to deal with it, the first thing we think of is what has already been done. Unfortunately most people don't realize that and act upon their initial reaction very quickly, due to the fear of what might happen if one more moment is spent thinking of another answer.
We must teach history so the youth can learn from our mistakes, but we must also teach the values of critical thinking so they understand why we keep repeating the same mistakes and learn to devise new solutions by the time they have the power.
 
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