Issue48【加州阳光】第五次作业 sandy请猛拍

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TOPIC: ISSUE48 - "The study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends in history were made possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten."
WORDS: 490          TIME: 1:03:00          DATE: 2006-6-30

Current wisdom says that historicists should not longer emphasize on the elite and concern more about the contribution of the common groups.  At the first thought, it may seem a sound idea, but careful weight on closer analysis. We find that key individuals are the same important as the group of people in history.

To begin with, key individuals indeed play a indispensable roles in the histories. From the Independence War to the human rights campaign, the great influence of the key men is throughout the whole process.  Key individuals impel the development of the campaigns, agitate the emotion of the people and guide people to the achievements.  Let the Independence war as an example. The elite like the Washington and    Jefferson organize the resistive campaigns and draw the Declaration of Independence. Only under the guide of such key individuals did the developments of the history.

Another influence about the elite is the histories figures inspire us to achieve the great things ourselves. The histories books hero stories tend to be the most attractive ones for children; children accordingly want to become the standout, such condition often contributes another hero story. What Bill Gates did often urge the youth to engage into the IT Industry and become another legend like Jerry Yang.  

At the same times, people should not neglect the function of the groups of people, if only the key individuals gives the agitative lectures and draws the perfect projects, no anyone agree with and take parts in the incidence, we can not create the histories, The wonder of the Great Wall came from the hard working of the groups of people; The success of the French Revolution ascribe to the energetically participation. The influence of the groups of people can be seen in every big transformation. We even can "see" the distinctly dividing the works: the elite supervise the whole plans, while the groups of people complete them under the conduction of the elite.

In science, many speakers may say that most of the inventions only related about the inventor not the groups of people.  Sometimes like the Musician or terpsichorean, things may be correct; nevertheless, even the musician may refer some style of the folk songs which came from the group of people. Actually, especially in medical sphere, clinic test , a necessarily process before the medicines putting forward to the market, need a lot of volunteer to test. The medical companies receive the echo information to ensure the validity and no side-effect of the medicines. A medicine which benefits the people contributes not only to the scientist who invents them but the group of people taking part in test.

History is combined by the both contribution of the key individual and the groups of people.  We can not completely assert that the history was created by the groups of people or otherwise.  To sum up, in study of the history, we should make sure the function of the both the key individuals and the groups of people in every historical affairs and not boast the contribution of either two.