Department of Ideas: Revisit Everything

by Brian Reich | 31 Jan 2010, 11:21pm

I have an idea: We should revisit everything.

We spend so much time looking forward these days, its easy to forget what happened in the past — and why its important.  Newspapers and magazines don’t offer much context, choosing instead to offer predictions and prognostications (that sometimes don’t even seem to be based on fact - or reality).  Television news barely acknowledges that anything aside from ‘breaking news’ is even happening.  Save for the death this week of noted historian and author, Howard Zinn, most people wouldn’t talk about history at all… and surely that interest will only last until someone embarrasses themselves during tonight’s live telecast of the Grammy’s.

The truth is, we don’t know much about the past.  History isn’t important to most people.  We don’t pay close enough attention to the events that shaped our society.  And we do so at our own peril.

Personally, I’d say I know enough history to be dangerous.  On a good day I can name all the US Presidents — and the major accomplishments of the most notable ones.  I am pretty confident that I know when (and in some cases, where) most of the major conflicts, from the Trojan War to Operation Enduring Freedom, happened.  I can sound authoritative when I explain the origins of the Israel/Palestine conflict or the factors that led up to the genocide in Darfur.  And if pressed, I can hold my own during a cocktail party conversation about the various economic and cultural influences that have shaped our society.

Still, as I walked through the Lincoln and New York exhibit at the New York Historical Society earlier today it was clear I don’t know much at all.  I consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to Abraham Lincoln.  I certainly know the highlights or our 16th President’s life — the big milestones in his rise to political power, his leadership during the Civil War, the content of his big speeches and proclamations, the events surrounding his assassination, etc.  But I admit, the details are fuzzy, at best.  The names of most supporting players are unfamiliar.  I don’t know the exact dates of anything.

History is powerful.  Knowing our history is important.  But history is often overlooked, forgotten - or worse ignored.  How can history compete with the present - the constant flow of information, the battles for attention, the speed and excitement of the new and shiny?  With everything about the world changing quickly and constantly, do we even have time to pause and reflect on where we came from?

We do have time.  We have to make time.  Our survival in the future is as much dependent on our ability to understand the events of the past as our capacity to manage what is happening in the present day.  That means our current situation, where history plays little or no role in our daily life, is both unsustainable, and ultimately dangerous.  If we don’t pay more attention to history, take the time to consider the past, the consequences could be quite significant.

What should we do?  Revisit everything.

One by one, subject by subject, we should be revisiting history.  We should be reviewing what happened in the past and trying to make sense of it given our knowledge and experiences from current times.  We should look at the big events, as well as the small happenings.  We should pay attention to the big names, but also the people who surrounded and influenced them. Remember, new history is created every day — the studying never stops.

There should be more than one cable channel devoted to history.  There should be movie studios that specialize in re-telling old stories - without ruining them.  Television networks should build their programs around past events instead of ripping everything from the headlines.  Publications, online and offline, should  re-publish more articles from the past.  For every book offering a new model or approach to conducting business online there should be a biography or historical analysis published as well.  People should spend as much time looking through archives as they do on Facebook.

NBC had a great slogan when promoting their summer reruns a few years back.  They said “If you haven’t seen it, its new to you.”  That’s true for history also.

There is no time to waste.  We should revisit everything.

Its just an idea…

TAGS : Department of Ideas