The ongoing discourse surrounding the paramount importance of history has sparked a contentious debate in contemporary society. A large segment of the population believes that history brings no valuable meanings, while opponents strongly argue that history helps to nurture a sense of patriotism. In the following paragraphs, I will examine the validity of both views before presenting my own opinion.
Primarily, an excessive focus on present and future plans leads many individuals to regard history as a meaningless subject. In this era of automation and modernization, people are fully surrounded with a multitude of problems, including financial stability and interpersonal conflicts. Such serious issues make them excessively pragmatic, and they seem to feel that historical events bring no meaningful lessons to their daily lives. They strongly believe those wars and stories belong to the past. Instead, people should focus on stabilizing their living conditions and solving existing problems rather than deeply researching history.
Conversely, history acts as a potent catalyst to nurture each individual’s sense of patriotism. Researching historical events may provide a wealth of profound insights and practical lessons which are deeply related to contemporary society. To exemplify, Vietnamese people are connected with their cultural roots and historical legacies throughout those events and wars, which can become a valuable source of information and knowledge. Exposure to historical content may help us take pride in our ancestors, thereby nurturing national pride. In the long run, we can get the previous experiences and gradually protect our nations from potential hazards, with the aim of ensuring the countries’ independence and people’s well-being.
From my perspective, I firmly believe that history plays a pivotal role in shaping individuals’ personality. Exposure to historical information and lessons may help people nurture empathy, nation pride or even nuanced understanding from our ancestors and historical leaders. In this way, they can develop holistically, gradually ensuring their long-term success and relationships.
To summarize, despite a multitude of controversial arguments, I strongly contend that history acts as a springboard for shaping personality and nurturing historical legacies. Governments should cooperate with parents to promote the paramount importance of history to teenagers and adolescents, thereby spreading the historical values.