History is fascinating, tragic and inspiring. It’s an interesting thing to discuss with the like minded and has the side benefit of also teaching geography.
What history can also do is be used to pass on hatred’s and blood feuds from generation to generation. The Germans did this, the Ottoman Turks did that, the Japanese did more of that etc, it goes on and on.
Rather than a way to learn from the errors and formative stories of the past, a distorted version of it is used often by governments and parents to pass hatred’s and grievances from one generation to the next. As if it’s a way of keeping that old smouldering flame of bitterness going for infinite generations to come.
When one day we learn that we cannot blame future generations for the sins both real and perceived of generations past, we will all be much better off.
“The sins of the father are visited upon the son”, was not meant as template on how to operate. It was maybe meant rather as a warning that humans cannot easily forgive and forget. And maybe most of all… Learn.
