I’ve never been an A student in history class but just an average one who would sit down and listen to my professor’s litany and find myself absorbing Colonial Period, Civil War Era, World War II, Cold War and a lot of other significant happenings in the olden times in one sitting. Although it’s pretty interesting to learn all about these timelines, I just find it difficult to grasp and learn all these information pressed into my brain. For the next two years of my life history class was 60 minutes of daily agony. I didn’t like learning about the holocaust timeline.
That one afternoon changed the whole way I thought about history. Even though it was a bit of a slow day our prof had come to class armed with a question that tickled our brains. “Do you think history repeat itself”? He then asked, yet expectant that his class would respond in usual silence. As anticipated, we did give the professor a blank stare but this time a more intent look on my face, our faces (at least I know all of us had the same reaction). It was then I thought to myself maybe history really does repeat itself? I took a look at the russian revolution timeline and saw a pattern, it was eerily similar to that of the french revolution timeline.
Our teacher gave us something to think about. The social issues we discussed in history class over the last several weeks brought us to our answers. He illustrated his point by referring to past presidents. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States had been elected for Congress in the year 1846. Alternatively John F. Kennedy was in Congress in 1946, exactly 100 years after Lincon was elected. These facts do not stop the similarities and likeness of paths these two presidents led. Abraham Lincoln was finally elected President in the year1860 which was again an approximate of 100 years when John F. Kennedy took the authority in the White House to sit as the newly elected President in 1960. Departing on only that fact, those two presidents both were big proponents of Civil rights and were both assassinated during their presidency.
Now, do I think all of these were just mere coincidences and twists of fate? I’d like to believe so, but our history professor made us think even more, an in-depth analysis and scrutiny of the past events. He then asked the question once again “Do you believe that history repeats itself”? I came with an answer I think will forever be etched in my mind, “History doesn’t repeat itself. There may have some flukes of nature and happenstance in the lives of the two presidents that were parallel with each other, but I strongly believe that it was just a product of human’s ability to over generalize. This compelling information may have been a great controversy in the past that continues to haunt the present, but I’d like to think that coincidences happen all because of people’s imperfection and their susceptibility to commit the same mistakes over again”.
I know I’ve made a point at that moment in my once boring history class. My teacher had a look that immediately told me that I had a valid point that he might agree with. That experience made me more interested in the subject as I am now able to understand that I’m one of those silent beings taking part in the history of the world, the history of our lives and existence.
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