ISSUE103

网兜妮妮UID: 2612538

TOPIC: ISSUE103 - "The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives."
WORDS: 662
TIME: 00:45:00
DATE: 2009-8-20 9:48:34

The study of history only have value when it is relevant to our daily lives,otherwise,the study is useless? I can hardly agree with the notion for it underestimates the study of history. Although history can provide much gaidence to our daily life, it is not one and the only benefit of history.

Admittedly,learning about the past can well benefit today,whereas the experience and knowledge is passing from the generation to generation. In every aspect of everyday life,we use the skill which from the past and many of them tend to be formed as culture mores.The most telling example is the traditional cookies making in China----which is a traditon cake eat in certain festivals. We are following the ways as our ancestors fulmuted, and the made of such cookie do act as important roles in today's culture. Other example has to do with the medicine history,which many medicines used in the past centuries still effectively in curing the illness. From the invention of penicillin,which is famous in the antibiotic families, and the study of the medicine history do benefit us to better use it in today's world. According to all these examples, we can see some things is keeping unchanged throughout the history, in other words, they are useful to our ancesters as well as in us, who live in the modren world,and the study of history do help us to gain the experience and skills which help us live better.

However,the value of studing history is more than that. In an individual level, the study of history do satidfied the individual needs to explore the unknow ,the curiosity to find how human live in the past,or how the Great American was being built or why we have the special constoms. There is no denying that to meet the need of human curiosity----a nature is one of the values of studing history, anyway, as one of the subjects, history act as the same role as physics to explain how I live here and how the environment was formed. In a society level, as one of the generation in human history,we have the responsibility to clearify the mist of our past to later generations. Do the record of the history mislead? Do it dostorted by few? What is the truth in the past? All these questions are vital in a long human history, and we--- who live in current has to take the commitment to find the truth about the past and fairly record about the present-----to well record and apperciate our culture traditions.

Moreover,history can set modols. Appearantly, it seems not related to the well-being of today's life but act as the spiritical gaide to everyone, and the influence cannot be ingored. The courage of Great American Founders, the perseverence of the famous scientists, and so forth. All these history heros had merits, no matter it is fairness, equality or the self-confidence, it indeed encourages us to face the differucults in our daily life and strive for achevments. Also, history teaches us lessons, which we may not use in the present but truly benfit the future. The learing about the failure of the kingdoms once booming but finally disappearence; the understanding of the negative impact on the environment damage; the distinction of certain animals which due to the human activity...All the telling examples evidence us the errs in human, which caused by our desire or selfishness. Even though with the more intellect in human and more regulation in our society,these lessons seems useless for we have the awearness to protect the environment and the endangered animals as well as to aviod such social ills. However, because these ills are stemmed form the huamn nature, we cannot garentee they will never happene in the future, therefore,the values of history-----as lessons would never out of time.

In conslusion, I agree with the speaker insofar as the history benefit us when it is directly related to our present life, but it is not the only value. As a member of the human and live in this generation, we have the ability to satidsfied our curiosity and the responsibility to clearify the facts in past to later generations. Also, the model effects and the lessons of history are also very important values of studying history.