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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: 438          TIME: 0:45:00          DATE: 2006-8-8

History, as a study of the past, is a way of recording to some extend. Because the resources and the recorders' attention are limited, emphasis and priorities should and must be made. The speaker doulbts that if the study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. I agree with the speaker that this is the case, however, I think this emphasis is both necessary and inevitable. As discussed below.

  Firstly, I admit that the history events, whether sigificant or not, are mostly made by a certain groups of people. No one can overturn this claim, as we humans live in a connected society, events done by a single creature scarcely  affect the society to a great extend. There are always leaders, but these men are just standing on the shoulders of his mass fowllowers. Trace back the history of each nation's histories, we will be custumed with this situation. Indeed, a great story related only to  a single man, is more popuular and  possible in epics or fantasies, such stories, I doubt their classification as history?
  Secondly, Though the history are made by the majority of people, their identities as each individual can not and need not be recognized in their time. And their identities are not as important to the process of that history as the indentities of certain people. Because their identities are not important, recording them as groups of people is enough, and this is the best way. It won't change a little if we exchange the indentity of tow sodilers in a war, however, if we change the position of tow leaders imaginerily,   

Thirdly, we know that people in the ancient time can only use scarce resources to take records of their time. Even now, armed with cameras,VCRs and other modern recording facilities, we still can not take every detail of our lives into record. Suggestions of giving a place to every individuals in the history, which may be proposed by the speaker or his supporters, still amouts to a dream. There  are too many people related, and lack of resource will always be a theme of human society. We recorded Martin Luthur King's speech decades ago, how is it possible to record each of other person's disscusion on that same occassion?  

In sum, the speaker's view on contemporary human history is acurate and incentive. However, this emphasis, seemingly unfair though, can never be changed completedly. We may get to know more stories of a normal individual in a certain history enents, but the emphasis on great individuals will never change because they contributed most and their role are crucial in the history.