Lesson of the Day...With A Bit of History

...Never read numerous political articles in succession, despite the harmless air they seemed to have. The reason? I succumbed to a unilateral, throbbing headache around four hours later.

...Or, it could have been because I kept myself glued to the computer screen, watching anime (and enjoying it!) right after I was done with the magazine?

History serves another purpose other than teaching us what to avoid - Please don't remind me by saying that history is to instill a sense of patriotism, because it doesn't work on me even after all these years - and that is for us to poke fun at it, all in the name of good humour.

I'd love to quote a comment I found on Youtube about nationalisme, although I'm not sure if it's legal to quote it without permission (since I'm too lazy to ask, whee!); "Nationalism makes relative but not absolute gains". In other words, it's the power that pushes a nation forward, to succeed. As such, when there is a problem of "Self before the rest" in the name of one's country, there's no escaping the possibility of getting involved - or, rather, clashing - with another, especially when history is thrown in the mix. Because history is, essentially, something that has happened that thus, is beyond change. What can be done, instead, is to manipulate the interpretation of the entire story. It's a classic example of "There is only one history/truth, but many versions of it".

And because we won't be who, what and how we are today if it was not because of history, it's quite hard to blame history entirely for all it's worth. I don't know if you've noticed it before, but many major turning points in history involves tyrannical if not egoistical rulers, and plenty of bloodshed. We can rightfully say, "Oh, they lived in the age of ignorance! Like England's King Henry who couldn't bear a male successor, he wrongfully divorced his wife to marry another, and yet when the latter still gave him no son, he accused her of multiple adultery and had her beheaded! But we all know that the sex of the child is determined by whether or not Y chromosome is present, and that should be coming from the father!", but people back then did not know that. What was important to King Henry was that he needed a son. Likewise, Shi Huang Di of China did not care about the massive killings he had ordered just for him to expand his empire and for his Great Wall. Oh, and while we're at it, we must never forget about Hitler and his Holocaust, because now Israel is doing the same to Palestine. Justified terrorism, ka?

Shouldn't we be horrified that it's essentially the evil megalomaniacs who managed to change the course of the world?

So yes, history will continue to haunt us because as long as we allow the inherent selfishness within us to command ourselves, we're destined to repeat history. I suppose one may say it defines humans - that we fight for what we believe is right, and if it so happens that we think it's right if we strip away the right of others in the name of misplaced right of self, it's maddeningly unacceptable.

But amidst it all, there is often the wish to emerge as the "good guy" in every story. So, for argument's sake, a country that went on massive imperialisme, forcing every other country into submission would attempt to justify it. In history books, this is manifested as a clever series of wordplay, or by a simple case of "lies of omission".

Studying history with only the hard facts will be boring. Devoid of humanity? Perhaps. Difficult to remember? God, yes!

Let's not forget that we may be manipulated, in that our thoughts are orchestrated to follow a certain pattern. How we view the world is partly shaped by the media - namely, newspapers, television shows, history, and perhaps even by fictional works.

What do we do in this age of overflowing information? Well, for starters, we must not accept things unconditionally. Just because Politician A is criticising Politician B, it doesn't mean that Politician B is in the wrong. Remember that there is such a thing as the pot calling the kettle black.

Another thing is, that we must learn to question. Even question authority when time calls for it, and do it ethically. Perhaps the young standing up against the old may not be part of what they say "Eastern culture", but for the sake of a healthy debate for the greater good, I say "WHY NOT!?" There is no infallibility in human traits!

...I didn't expect this entry would be this long. I sense a comic strip coming along...if I feel like drawing one.

Oh, wait. Now I know why I had that god-awful headache. I've been thinking too much about things that won't be able to be changed in the near future.


Current Music: World is Mine - Hatsune Miku

P/s: Suddenly I am reminded of one of my favourite quotes, one by Peter Ustinov; "To arrive at the truth, the German adds, the Frenchman subtracts, and the Englishman changes the topic."

P/p/s: PASTAAAA~!!!!11