Issue221【六人作文小组】第2周第6次作业

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TOPIC: ISSUE221 - "The chief benefit of the study of history is to break down the illusion that people in one period of time are significantly different from people who lived at any other time in history."
WORDS: 653          TIME: 上午 12:45:18          DATE: 2009-1-16

Are we study history only to get to know certain issues or figures that had happened? Or we study history only to justify what have changed and what have not? In fact, the history presents us more than those external phenomena, and the truth beyond that value the most. Thus, from my perspective of view, by study the history we would understand the trends and try to predict the trends while seek the culture or identity of ourselves.

When it comes to the trends, which is the basic function of history from my point of view, we try to figure out the differences and similarities between the past and now and even the future. The study of the Great Depression, which happened during 1929 to 1931 in the US, Europe and eventually throughout the world, has much to understand the ongoing economic mess. How the depression was started and how it was ended can help us to predict the near future of the world to certain extent and try to avoid similar situation. It is true that we no longer have a people called Roosevelt that introduce new policies to help us find a way out, and the world economy situation varied during this century, but the way to build confidence among humans can also assist us with the current dilemma. In this regard, it is not the study to justify whether the situation have changed that people are living in a significantly different lifestyle but one that enable us to understand why and how a specific issue happened and what the people and government should respond to it.

Moreover, it is merely a waste if we only study history to understand the trends and predict them. According to Maslow Hierarchy Theory, the need of self-esteem should be fulfilled once we basic needs of food and safety are met. The study of history enables us to seek the identity via its vivid demonstrations. Set the study of Confucius, the greatest thinker in ancient China, as an example. The Junzi, a similar figure compared to gentleman, he reckons should be moldiest and knowledgeable, which give the Chinese an identity that what they should be. Though the modern Chinese life a different life that we are no longer afraid of the civil wars and we live our lives with washing machines and Internet, the basic identity of a Chinese remained. Thus, the study of history enlightened us that the moral value system of Chinese instead of simply provide that people live in different life styles or not.

Admittedly, the history do break down the image that people in different time are significantly different from another time. The study of American Civil War justified that people can be hostile to each others when it comes to the profits that the south announce its independence in order to maintain the farmer's right to have slavery. And it also illustrates that how important economic links are in a war by demonstrate the ''King Corn was more powerful than King Cotton'' that even the south started its embargo of cotton to Europe cannot make France or England to support them as they must depend on the corn import from the Union. But the fact that people are commonly, if not always, greedy is only the external phenomenon that we should dig out the truth. By doing so, we may encounter the identity of African-American that the slavery policy was finally banned. And we can also understand the support from powerful countries are vital to a war, which is the trends of war.  

In sum, the study to break the illusion that people are different from past to now is merely the study of phenomenon of history. By study of it and thinking through it we can understand some more valuable information. The trends and culture or identity as a whole is the chief benefit that the history can give us.