The Past, Present, and Future

The way we choose to remember directly impacts how history is told. Both who we think of and how they contributed create our perception of historical facts. Consequently, these factors define what history means. Sarah Vowell sarcastically says, in “The Partly Cloudy Patriot”, that “Mel (Benjamin Martin) just risked his life so that the kid’s kids can rape their slaves and vote to be the first state to secede from the Union.” History often has two sides to the story. On one hand, Martin was an American patriot. On the other, he was a Native American murderer. As we construct different ideas, we are unconsciously establishing the future. What people will believe about history comes from us today just as we have formulated our own views based on what others have taught us. Facts are facts, but they can be interpreted in many ways. Such difference is the basis of arguments. While each person has a right to their own opinion, it also important to think of the effects of those perceptions. How will this analysis change future analysis? Will it produce positive or negative change? Next time you take a stance on a controversy remember to think of the future world. Will my view help make it better place? History may be in the past, but it will always influence the future.