Why Insist on Studying History?

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History
Given all the demands that press in from living I the present and anticipating what is yet to come, why bother with what has been?
History is useful, and people should bother with it because it helps the population gain an understanding of the public and societies. According to Peter Sterns, history provides a wealth of information on the behavior of people and society (Stearns 1). The process of attempting to understand how people and cultures operate is difficult as current data is not conclusive. However, through historical information, one can trace the origin or development of a particular subject up to date. For instance, history helps to evaluate the war even when a country is peaceful; it gives insight into the development of technology and its impact and how belief systems shape family live among other aspects. Also, the wealth of information history provides information on social issues (Stearns 1). For example, to determine how mass elections work and their effects, other disciplines such as science cannot carry out such investigations. However, looking through similar events in the past helps to provide data and conclusion on these social issues.
Another reason to bother with what has been is that history causes the present and determines the future (Stearns 1). In deciding why an issue occurs such as how political parties developed or the causes of a rise in teenage suicide, one needs to understand its origin. In some instances, current information is sufficient to explain a situation; for example, “teenage suicides rise because of increased levels of depression and loneliness.” However, to understand where this problem started, one needs to go back to when these cases began, and only history can provide this information (Stearns 1). It identifies what causes the change and as a result, one can identify factors that lead to a particular issue and how to overcome them.
Given all the desirable and available branches of knowledge, why insist-as most American education programs do-on a good bit of history?
One of the reasons to study a good bit of history is because it promotes good citizenship. History helps citizens understand and develop vital skills that make them belong to a country. It provides a lot of information on how a nation came to be through interacting with others, how national institutions developed, the challenges the country has experienced and the values it upholds, information that makes people responsible citizens. Also, a country’s history outlines the habits and public behavior citizens, leaders or observers should practice, to meet the standards of the country thus, making them good citizens.
Two, history allows individuals to learn from the past and avoid future mistakes. History reoccurs ov...