The importance of history is in
its capacity to help one to draw conclusions from the past events. It may be
said that history is to the human race, what memory is to each man. It sheds
the light of the past upon the present, thus helping one to understand oneself,
by making one acquainted with other peoples. Also, as one studies the rise and
fall of empires and civilizations, the lessons of the past help one to avoid
the pitfalls of the present.
History makes one’s life richer
by giving meaning to the books one reads, the cities one visits or the music
one hears. It also broadens one’s outlook by presenting to one an admixture of
races, a mingling of cultures and a spectacular drama of the making of the
modern world out of diverse forces.
Another importance of history is
that it enables one to grasp one’s relationship with one’s past. For example if
one wonders why the Malaysia flag has red and white stripes, a moon and a star
or why Brunei follows monarchy, one has to turn to history for an answer.
History is of immense value to
social scientists engaged in research. Thus the political scientist doing
research on the parliamentary form of government has to draw his materials from
the treasure trove of history.
It preserves the traditional and
cultural values of a nation, and serves as a beacon light, guiding society in
confronting various crises. History is indeed, as Allen Nerins puts it, "a
bridge connecting the past with the present and pointing the road to the
future."
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