The Antidote to the Tyranny of the Present: Studying History

History is more than a list of names and dates; it’s a window into the human experience that forms how we address the present.

Though history is often forgotten in favor of the new and innovative, it will always be a spring of wisdom. Shutterstock

At some point, every child in school asks the question, “Why do I have to study history?” And if the child doesn’t receive a good answer to the question, it may hang with him or her throughout life. Plenty of adults wonder the same thing. Long lists of dates and kings can numb the mind, especially if those facts aren’t connected to any overarching understanding of history’s importance. The study of history doesn’t cure diseases, raise skyscrapers, or build better cars (at least not directly). What use does it serve in the real world?

The study of history frees us from one of the cruelest tyrannies we experience: the tyranny of the present moment. Freedom from this tyranny provides a person an important framework for understanding the world and living in it with purpose, intentionality, and peace. A person with deep knowledge of the past possesses a firm rudder on the sea of life and can sail straight toward a destination without being blown about by winds of change or tossed around by waves of popular opinion. 

The Present and the Past

What is the tyranny of the present? Historian Steve Weidenkopf described it this way: “Modern society is consumed with the immediate and rejects the past.” Those living under the tyranny of the present prioritize what is happening now, consigning everything else to the proverbial “dustbin.” Past events are either looked down upon, or not looked at at all.