Unity Through History - Cites: Bertolt Brecht, Kenneth M. Stampp, Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes, Alice Walker, Huanani-Kay Trask,

Essay by Prue750College, Undergraduate December 2006

download word file, 6 pages 3.0

In life, everything is based on a past. Nothing would exist had it not been for our ancestors who came to this foreign land, and for their ancestors who brought them up in their native land. Each branch of life is connected to the same family tree if you follow the grape vine throughout time. History is therefore just as important as the present, and perhaps even more important. Bertolt Brecht said it best in his poem "A Worker Reads History," there are "So many particulars. So many questions." The value of attending to the past is simple. It allows us to follow a path up to the present and prove why things are the way they are. There is only one fault, however, when looking back at history. There are too many biases that could get in the way of the "research" and "discoveries." Depending on who is doing the discovering and what their past is, they may interpret something different to what someone else might.

A person's personal history, family legends, and communal stories may lead them to an assumption of history. However someone else could take their own stories and legends into account and think something completely different. Therefore, it is important when looking back at history to observe many different points of view of the desired event, opposed to just one view that may contain biases. You may find yourself discovering similarities between yourself and those you thought were completely opposite of you.

Have you ever found yourself asking, "Who are these people that wrote this textbook, and what gives them the power to tell me what's important to know about this subject?" Well I have, especially when it comes to history. Not until I came to college have I ever read the point of view...