[Opinion] History not to be taught in our schools

[Butch Hannan]

They should ban the teaching of history in our schools. Healing will never take place while past wrong doings are the subject matter taught in schools. My grandson has to constantly hear how the white people were very bad. His young black friends look at him at as a monster when they were both born in the New South Africa. It should rather be replaced by "Ethics and Morality"

[tec0]

Once before I have stated that there are 3 things that the human race has to abandon if they wish to be free and allow for positive growth. History, Religion and Greed. History wants to act as constant reminder that we where once primitive and it reminds us of all the past wars and mistakes and act as a curse and brands us, and damn our children.

Religion suppresses growth and self worth to the point where ministers and priests demands our wealth for their own selfish needs. They suppress the feminine and even in our world today little has changed not to mention the scandals that surround there practices. They appointed themselves as superior and keep scriptures from the public eye, and hide them in punkers surrounded by guns and guards. They deny us truths and knowledge and deny humans their dignity.

Lastly is Greed! For humanity can see past the use of money and the greater good of sharing wealth so that all my live and work as equal. Every day millions is denied access to medical equipment and basic live saving operations. Not to mention the simple basics like food and water. We value paper more than human life. Our arts reflect it in pictures, photos and movies.

Without these 3 systems we will be able to evolve. Right now the world is flawed only because we as human kind willed it to be flawed.

[twinscythe12332]

History is perfectly fine. it's when selective history is taught, then there becomes a problem.

[Dave A]

Can you really mould a better future without learning lessons from the past? I agree with twin - there needs to be perspective, but denying our history is not the solution.

[AndyD]

If history was taught along with perspective then maybe it would stop repeating itself and the same mistakes wouldn't keep being made. We'd all progress faster as a race.

[wynn]

History is taught by the victor.
In our case there was no victor just concensus that we had to move past a point of political empass.
Teach your kids the correct sequences, if the history being taught in school is not factual, query it.

There was an interesting article last week where Barrack Obama had something to say about slavery, the article mentioned that his wife was a decendant of slavery.
What struck me was they never mentioned the fact that Obama's black forefathers were probably involved in capturing and selling the forefathers of his wife to traders and therefore into slavery.

The same as certain Politicians believe they won over apartheid, history will prove them wrong. It was the majority of moderate whites that allowed true democracy to take hold.
Eventually it will be the moderate majority of south Africans that will put history into perspective.

[tec0]

Well life as we know it consist of “who is right and who was wrong� never forget that one nation’s freedom fighter is another nation’s terrorist. If we dwell on the past then there will not be a future, just more of the same BS.

Right slavery has been eradicated if you want to be “jammer gat� about it then get a life because we all had our challenges to overcome. The biggest challenge is yet to come and that is acceptance. Accept the past as the past and leave it at that. But if you want to systematically abuse history to keep old hate alive then hate will live. It is really that simple.

I still say ban history, religion and get rid of greed and the systems that are used by greed. We are an evolved species and we can go beyond the gold coin and start working to maintain life in general. We can design and build systems so advanced that our understanding may change again. But right now we are all just sad little slaves running around plying the blame game...

[twinscythe12332]

History is taught by the victor.

Funnily enough that reminds me of a debate another forum was having:
If Germany had won the war, would America be seen as evil?

[Dave A]

If Germany had won the war, would America be seen as evil?

At the very least, today would be a totally different world.

No conflict over Palestine.
No cold war between the super powers of USA and USSR (just who would have been the super powers?)
No rock and roll?
No Microsoft?

[garthu]

Funny thing with history in politics, no one learns from it really. Same mistakes made over and over often, just in a different manner. If people ran there business without learning from yesterday, it would collapse. Don't know why the human race is always so set against itself.

[garthu]

Oh and Dave, no microsoft, you make a good argument for them having won

[twinscythe12332]

Oh and Dave, no microsoft, you make a good argument for them having won

I'll take Microsoft over being shot in the face for complaining about the nazi background any day, thanks.

[Butch Hannan]

The unfortunate thing that is happening is that the way history is being taught it is perpetuating and imprinting hatred into he psyche of young people. What a lot of people do not realise is that hatred like the other emotions such as greed and jealously are actually self destructing emotions. They will destroy any individual who is caught up and overcome with these emotions.

[Butch Hannan]

When I started this thread I merely said that history should not be taught in our schools. It leads to dangerous brain washing of young people and perpetuates hatred. Our history is our history and we are stuck with it whether it be good or bad.
To ban religion as history would show will never work. I have only good memories of the various ministers that I have been involved with and they certainly did not enrich themselves at my expense. My giving to the church has always been of my own free will and as the Holy Spirit has convicted me to do.

[adrianh]

History

There is no such thing as unbiased history. Everybody sees the past to suit their needs. Some say the pyramids were tombs, some say they were machines generating energy. Some say the bible is the only truth while other say that the Romans concocted the stories to control society. Some say 9/11 was comitted by terrorists and some say that the FBI did it...etc.

The problem is that whatever we believe was recorded by some person, concocted by some person or rewritten by some person. Just as CNN reports whatever suits their pockets, so do journalists.

I once heard a wonderful saying "You can change the future, but you can't change the past"

To get back to history being taught at schools - When I was at school many many years ago I learned about Jan Van Riebeek, Wolraad Wotemaade and how the voortrekkers trekked up north and whacked the blacks. I learned that "Die groot swart gevaar" is going to come from Angola to kill the whites. I was taught that black people should sit in 3rd class in the back carriage of the train. I was taught that the black should work in the garden and not sit at the supper table. BTW: Black people were not allowed in the NG church, our gardener and maid were the only people that attened my fathers funeral.

So you tell me: what is the difference between the rubbish that is being taught now and the rubbish that was taught then?