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In hindsight, I kind of regret ever learning the term "ahistorical". Because giving a name to the shit that runs rampant on here means now I can't unsee it. A lot of people have no relationship with history, and it shows in everything they do.
I remind people all the time that I am a very poor student of history. I have a hard time remembering names and dates. It's hard for me to put things in context. But I still do my best to gain a grasp of history so it can help me understand what I see around me today.
I've come to understand history as a thing that is malleable, but also knowable. Malleable in the sense that we have to study it because it is often told subjectively. We have to piece it together. But it is still knowable in the sense that we can't invent our own stories.
If you don't have a relationship with history, you're naturally going to invent your own stories. That's what humans do, and we're good at it. History is about tempering our imaginations by doing our best to understand what actually came before.
And we have to temper our imaginations. Because when it comes to human societies and how we treat each other, our imaginations often lead us to the darkest places. The lessons can only be found by embracing the truth of history.
Without a relationship with history, people can be convinced of anything. That's why those who seek to rule often seek to manipulate our understanding of history as well as control the education of new generations.
