Years ago, I had the good fortune to be invited to be the "inspirational speaker" at one of our Methodist colleges. They invited me back the following year. It must have been to correct the mess I had made the previous year.
On one of those visits, as I was casually walking across the campus, a young female student excitedly rushed up and confronted me with an urgent question. She asked, "Why is a course in World History a requirement for graduation"? Up until then, that thought never entered my mind. I always liked history.
As unpleasant and yet exciting as a study of history can be at times, my immediate reaction to the young girl's question was: "If we do not know the significant facts of the past, how can we understand the present and plan for the future?" Most of us can deal with the pleasant aspects of history. But the unpleasant aspects are another thing. That's when the rubber hits the road.
Wikimedia Commons Photo
WWII Propaganda Poster
A U.S. propaganda poster from World War II.
As a 90-year-old veteran of World War II and a retired clergy of The United Methodist Church, I have learned a few things about the unpleasant aspects of history and hopefully, have matured in the process. As a teenager, I found out that the citizens of our country hated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, maybe not the people but their government. I was one such citizen and eventually volunteered to help end their savagery. Years later, I and millions of others like me have discovered that love and forgiveness are the only ways to build humanitarian bridges of good will and peace. And driving their beautiful and skillfully made automobiles helps to seal the deal. There are no winners in endless wars.
Wikimedia Commons Photo
Anti Japanese Poster
A U.S. propaganda poster against Japanese from World War II.
Furthermore, any conservative critic of the "Holy Bible," from Genesis to Revelation, will if they haven't already done so, discover that this sacred book is filled with such hair-raising subjects that one might not feel comfortable discussing them in mixed company. The Bible is the story of wayward people in their endless struggle for self-identity and heart-rending pursuit to find this self. There's no let-up. It's uphill all the way.
Why study history? A study of history reveals how war is not the ultimate solution to our human dilemma. Why study history? The absence of such a study often prompts us to repeat the past rather than correct it, which we seem to be presently doing.
Why study history? The destruction of the ugly and inhumane symbols of the past such as Dachau and Auschwitz should be preserved as a reminder that human beings do not treat one another that way. Even the ugly and cruel symbol of a Cross on which a man called Jesus was crucified, is not buried and forgotten. For centuries the Cross has become the symbol of love, peace, and goodwill. The Cross adorns our churches, is the subject of the hymns we sing and hangs on the necklace we wear around our necks or carry in our pockets.
Someone asked Jesus what the first commandment is? Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbor as yourself."
We have an immediate and urgent choice to make. We can learn the valuable lessons from history that improves the lot and welfare of humans, and enjoy our time here on earth, or we can go blindly and selfishly on our way and reap the whirlwind, whose pain is never ending.
The Rev. Billy Cox of Louisville, Ky., is a retired United Methodist clergyman and a veteran military chaplain. This article is republished with his permission from his frequent emails to a circle of friends.