Your Lessons Of History

[Parallel Guy]

We all know the traditional lessons that history is supposed to teach (History repeats itself...You can't know yourself without knowing your history) but since so much of this forum is about personal contact with the past, what personal lessons have you learned?

I have taken a different approach to studying history (see "New Ladies and Gents" thread if interested). I learned that along with the "fog of war" there is a thing I've calling the "fog of events". History books do a nice job of distilling the information and giving us a canned look at events. This is necessary and useful. The problem is that that gives us too much of a God-like view of history. We float over events and can see cause, effect, heorics, nastiness because we know the outcome.

However, when we live through a time we get a jumbled bag of trivia, earth-shaking news, lies and entertainment. This makes the central message of the time more difficult to figure out.

For example, right now I am studying March 1945. I am having to track the results of Yalta, the battle on Iwo, the closing in on the Rhine, Popeye being challenged to a spinach contest, Amos and Andy's tax problems, the opening of To Have and Have Not, the change in ration coupons, a possible nurse draft, etc. etc. Following all those threads of life create a "fog of events" that blur importance.

Too esoteric? Eh, you decide.

 

[Spitfire]

Don't know if it's esoteric but I tend to do the same.
And then maybe in another way. When I read about big historical subjects - let's say Battle of Britain - I always try to get the broader perspective by narrowing down.
Instead of reading about the whole battle over and over I try to read about the battle as one squadron lived through it. (In my case RAF 85th squadron)
And it never fails - I go on diggin myself down into how one or two pilots experienced it. And what effect it had on them etc.
You can say that it becomes very personal. But to my mind, that's the best way to find out, how it really was. And what histry does to the single persons, who were there.

A very interesting subject you started.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I don't know if you can call this a lesson of history, but the overall evolution of things is very interesting to me. How one can begin as a monkey (or so history says we are decedent of) to figuring out the way of life, survival, shelter, searching and killing for food. To coming in contact with another of our own species, and at first not knowing what or who we are, eventually a spark enters our minds and the evolution of human contact and man (woman and man) has begun. These same things still apply after millions of years. I think as a human being, I can learn the way of life, the way early man did so so long ago, and without having to use money or power. Just thought and common sense.

Every moment in time, there were two people, standing side by side, as friends, as enemies, and as human beings. The evolution of man is my lesson of history and I didn't mention anything about fire, caves, or Sabertooth tigers.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

The main thing I've learned from history is that nothing ever works out the way one planned it.

 

[Twitch]

Being a writer on the subject of historical air combat I delve into the tactical aspects of history instead of simply the broad stategic view. As with your look at the battle for Iwo you'd want to find some personal accounts instead of an overview of the fighting.