Remember: You get 2 points if you reference a piece of literature, a movie, a television show, or an historical fact. You get 2 points if you add information to another person's answer. All other answers, unless inappropriate, receive 1 point.
In 1984, the Party freely changes history and historical fact. In fact, one of its slogans is "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."
It is a fact that American publishers of textbooks have either altered or eliminated some of our nation's more embarrassing moments in history, including the periods dealing with slavery and treatment of Native Americans. In the past, some books did not mention them at all or, if they did, they did not accurately represent the atrocities that occurred during those times. Mrs. Helbing recounted a story to me that in one of the history textbooks she had as a student, it said that slaves "were happy at Christmas time when they received their red kerchiefs."Is it important to accurately remember our history? Why or why not? Why would a society choose to alter history? Do you believe the slogan of the party is accurate?
56 comments:
I think it is very important to remember what has happened in the past. If you think about, what has happened in the past is the reason why things are like what they are today. And if we ignore the past, our history might repeat itself. If we forget what Hitler did or what we did to the African Americans. Then what is stopping us from doing it again? If you were to choose to leave anything out of our history, what is stopping us from repeating it? I personally think that the slogan from 1984 "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." That statement is very true. Although someone cannot tell us what happened and did not happen in the past because we know what has happened. This makes the first part of the slogan true, “Who controls the past controls the future…” because I can go get a book on War World II and although the whole story is not there. I get what happened. The second part to the is “who controls the present controls the past” If you were to change all the history books and fill them with fact truths or something similar to that and then have children that don’t know what really happened read them. Then they are going to take what they read and what the where taught and believe that. If we forget what has happened in the past we may make the same mistakes again and repeat what has happened already. That is why I think that remembering what has happened in history is very important.
The "fact" in the sentence "If you were to change all the history books and fill them with fact truths..." is supposted to be fake.. sorry.
Yes it is very important to remember history. I agree with Kaitlyn. What has happened in the past is the reason why things are the way they are nowadays. If we just happened to take out a piece of our history, for example, 9/11, that would change everything. Possibly gas prices, peoples outlook on life, and we would have many more people stil alive today. A society would choose to alter history maybe because they wouldn't want something from the past to happen again, for example, The Great Depression. They might want everything to be cheap so people don't run out of money and such. Yes, the slogan for the Party is accurate only because the person controlling the past obviously controls the future because the future is before them and they will be shaping it.
It is imperative to control the past if u waant to control the present and future. Simply if people do not know they are being treated unfairly there is no way for them to combat their situation.
I dont really agree with Ckennedy because there would be no reason for the governmment to cover up a situation like 9/11. now if there was a event like a loss of a war then the government could say it never happened and the people will like their situation more.
I do believe it is very important to remember our history of both our country and the world. There is a saying, "Those who cannot remember their past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana). This means that if we are ignorant to our past mistakes, then we will not learn from them and we could possibly make them again. Take the Holocaust for example; if we're ignorant to all the horrible things the Germans used to torture the Jews, we may be setting ourselves up to experience the same torture down the road.
I agree 100% with Brittany. If you don't know the mistakes that have went on then how is it possible to prevent the same mistakes in the future? If history wasn't important then why would we have a HISTORY channel?!...because it does matter.
I think is important to remember what happens in our past, because they reasons for why things are today. Not knowing our past or where we came from is irritating, you wouldn't be able to know why you act the way you act. Sometimes, when there are kids that are selfish and are not grateful, you are able to look at their childhood and see that they were the only child or they were not independent in the things they did.
A reason why a society would alter history is because there might be a period in time that they are ashamed of. Like how Mrs. Striby said how history books try to say that the slaves liked the way they lived. In reality we should know that they way they were treated was unjust and they most likely were miserable.
In their society I believe that the slogan is accurate. The first slogan, War is Peace; in Oceania they are always at war, to them it is normal. So in a way they are in war they feel secure because there is an army fighting the enemy and protecting them. Freedom is Slavery, the telescreen keeps telling them that their life is great and that they are free. The citizens know in their mind that they are actually being watched almost everywhere they go, and in a sense they are like slaves because they have strict discipline and they can't whatever they want whenever. Lastly, Ignorance is Strength, when the people don't know anything, like the truths they try to hide, the society is at its strongest. If someone happened to figure out the truth you would think they would try to revolt, but the are too scared, they would be out numbered plus no one would believe them. Technically, their system of government will remain strong because it is working, no one tries to revolt and they have pretty mush brain-washed everyone so they won't believe anything that is not able to be proved.
Yes, I do think it is important to remember our past. If you think about what had happened in the past, you can tell it has definitely affected our future. How are we suppose to know different things. Like how are we suppose to know about our family history. It is kind of like the movie "The Forgotten" where a woman's son had died and throughout the movie she keeps forgetting more and more about him. And I do not agree with "1984" and how they feel it is good to change the past. I do not really get why they want to change it or when someone disappears that they make it seem like that person never existed. And the three slogans of the party sound to me like the past and future. Like there was peace in the world now there is war. Or freedom is slavery. But just think about all the knowledge that we would lose if we no longer knew about the past.
I agree with my sick best friend who made me an awesome locker sign for my birthday even though my birthday isn't until the end of March. The past does need to be remembered as it truly happened. If we were to forget major and important facts about how our coutry was formed like how is was formed by men that believed in God, the Pledge of Allegiance would be altered completely.
AW FIDDLESTICKS! I had to delete my last comment because of a typing error.
Once again, I can not fully agree with Jamie and I am not sure if I spelled it right. Why would we have the History Channel of History Class? But there is a problem with those things. They could miss inform you like Mrs. Striby said how the teachers don't tell us about how we delt with the Japanese during the war. Or how we treated the indians and their land.
Unfortunately I am not sure which slogan Mrs. Striby id speaking of. The three slogans:
Peace is war.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
or the other:
Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls present controls the past.
(Or something along the lines of this.)
Either one, I believe in both. Even though the first three are contradicting, I view them as paradoxes. And, no, I am not sure if that is right. Anyways, peace will always be followed by war, with the exception of the final battle of heaven and Earth. By being free, you are given the responsibilities of making your own choices and can cause a great amount of stress. It's like when we are to young to choose our parents choose for us. The third slogan, Ignorance is strength, is very true. You can take this into every game you ever play. If they do not believe you have talent, or they believe in their own invincibility, they are easily proven wrong and come to realiize their underestimation has cost them greatly.
For the last slogan, I can always agree with it. I relate this slogan also to what Mrs. Striby said about how the history books don't tell us everything. It has to be true. For whoever has control of you now can train you will false records of the past, therefore controling what you believe and ultimately controling how you react to things.
Cody...i didnt say anything about a history class lol what you just said didnt make since. I was saying that if our history was not important then why would we have a history channel on T.V. that gives us FACTS?! duhh cause our past is needed to be acknowledged.
I agree with kennedy that what happened in the past shaped the future. Nothing would be the same as it is now if it wasnt for everything else that happened before. Just think if there was no technology in the past there would be no technology to build on. Now there are some things that some people want to leave out from the past but we cant really aviod anything because it did happen. But I also agree with Brit that if we dont remember the bad things that happened in the past then how are we supposed to prevent them to happen agian.
I believe that history is not right to erase history in most cases. To me, history is what can make a person. Remembering the death of his mother, Winston is mournful and wishes he was not selfish enough to love her back. If he had just repressed his loss, he possibly wouldnt be as unorthodox as he is now. and i also agree with Seth Harmon when he says the governmant could cover a loss of a war. The US has done something close to that as a matter of fact. in world war 2 we took japanese soldiers hostage and put the in camps....basically like what Hitler did to Jews.
I had to go back to double check if i could mention books from freshmen year before saying this. In Enders Game, Earth's military had to cover up the real reason for why they fought the buggers and what happened so they could trick Ender into believing that he was their last hope and defeat the bugger race.
Wow I have impressed myself by saying this, not entirely sure what it says but it is cool.
I Patrick Cheek believe that our history should not be hidden be cause we did not like it. What has happened has happened but what will come will come. Hopefully what has happened will not all come again such as the slave trading.
I think that countries try to hide what they have done to avoid being talked about badly and to show how bad they are. Everybody wants to look good and nice.
I believe that it is very important to remember our past. Our past dictates present relationships with other areas and also shows how things are run as far as a government and things like that. Without a history, our country would be nothing but a land mass with people living on it. A society might try and alter the past becuase in this way they can lead the people to believe that things happened even if in reality they never did actually happen. I think that the Party's slogan is very true, those who control the past do in fact control the future. Most of our beliefs and relationships are based on the past. If we were told we had been at war with Canada, then many things would change between us. Just the same, if the people of Oceania are told that they are at war with those of Eurasia, then they will express dislike for those countries.
I agree with cheek. Countries may try to hide there past to aviod being talked about badley. However, I believe that pasts should not be hidden. No one is perfect, just as no society is perfect. representing humility as a country shows strength. This shows that a country, although guilty of their acts, are truthful enough to reveal them. Not only will this permit a certain level of respect from honesty, but it will also allow trust. A real life example of this is how we sometimes lie to our parents. Normally, when we lie instead of just saying the truth, our punishment is more severe, but when we come out with the truth, we gain respect and our punishment is less harsh.
I agree with Taylor, a history paints a character, and without a history, then what kind of character would we end up with? Every experience we go through changes us into the people we are, or soon will be. Fears, likes, relationships, even our level of knowledge is determined by our history.
I think it is true that who controls the past also controls the future. It is like caue and effect. If do good in school, I am somewhat controling my future. IF I do everthing I need to like, study hard, pull good grades, and graduate, I am bettering myself for the future. I am preparing my self to get a good job and be successful. Im controling my future by working hard in the past/ present. :)I might not get the question but if this answers it then...ok. lol
I agree with Andrea. We learn from the past. We don’t make the same mistakes that people in the past made. That’s why it so important to know the past. If we didn’t, we would keep making those mistakes over and over again. We also shouldn’t change the past to make us look good either because as I said before we wouldn’t learn anything from it.
I think it is very important to be accurate with history. Not only is it important to be accurate, but it’s important to let history be known. For example, I recently learned that the US bombed Pakistan. Instead of this story making front page news, it was printed on the back page of the newspaper. The front page headline story was an article about the number of calories in fast food. I think the newspaper should get their priorities straight.
Katie i agree with you. History should be know no hidden. We don't need to be ashamed of your past. We just need to make sure it doesn't happen again. If she pretend bad things did happen then that is only hurting us. I know that we don't like to look bad. Face it no one likes to look mean and heartless. And what the U.S. did to the Indianas and the African Americans was wrong. Oh so very wrong. But we can't change that way people acted back then. And if we forget what is stoping us from repeating that mistake, that big, huge mistake? For example, My friend and I when to the store with her mother and her mom got all this stuff. We get up to pay for the things and my friend like askes her mom for this coke and her mom saids okay. (I know this story doesn't seem to really explain anything but i'm getting there. =]) Anyhow... She opens it and drinks some of if, then pays for it. Sets it down to bag the idems and place then in a cart and walks away. We get back to her house and turns to her mother and askes about her coke. And realizes she forgot it. Now my friend doubble checks to make sure she has everything.. But see if my friend hadn't forgot her coke that one time, she could make the mistake of leaving something like her credit card some where and someone getting a hold of that and spending hundreds of dollars before she realizes that it is gone. So that is how history helps, when you make a mistake you learn form it, but if you forget it. What have you learned form that?
I agree with Katie tat all history should be known. That story with the newspaper is pretty bogus. Even though it was a bad thing that still should have let the people know exactly what is going on.
I agree with Brit as well. I love that quote as well. I was just reminded for the one of the slogans of the party. “Ignorance is Power.” In some cases this can be true. But if you were to can’t power to weakness would be false. Either way it won’t work it would be plusungood. =] Anyways, ignorance in some cases can be good, but when talking about History ignorance in some cases is bad. So if you were to temper with history, making my children and their children ignorant to the past, which is when history can possible repeat itself.
I agree with you Cheek. I was just the wrong way to go about putting the article in. If you put it was put in the middle part to the newspaper that would be a different story. =]
I agree with Seth in saying that people must know that they are being treated badly. That is the only way to truly be free. If your happiness is restricted to like a 2 of 10 then that is not freedom it is communism.
I do have to say though, i know we need history and in the long run of life it comes in handy. But why is it do boring? Yes, there are some parts in history I enjoy, some I find intertesting. Most of it is boring tho. Expecially when your learning something that has nothing to do with our country. I've always wondered why we have to know so much about other peoples history.
I agree with khon in saying that when you make a mistake you should learn from it. If you don't then it will probably happen again but the consequences will probably be twice as worse. So learn from every mistake you make Mrs. Striby.
His got you there Ms. Striby! =]
I do agree with the slogan:
"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."
If have a lot of power then it is going to be really hard for people to conquer your power. With that said, when having poer you ar going to able to pocess for a long time. Also if you have control in the future then you must of some control in the past to get to where you are in the future. just like in presidency, when people run for president they first have some kind of important role in the government. Random people in everyday life don't just decide one day they want to run for president.
Kaitlyn, we have to know about others people's history because in a way it effects us. If we knew nothing about other countries and their allies, warfare, or government, we could lose our freedom and succomb to a force like Korea. I do agree that sometimes it seems pointless, and ofcourse it is boring, but we must learn it to learn from our mistakes and others aswell.
For example, you and a friend are walking down the hallway. She gets stopped and wrote up for her shirt tail being untucked, and you notice yours is untucked also. The smart person would tuck in theirs really fast before the teacher could see. And hopefully in the future tuck in your shirt, or at least keep it tucked in if you are around that specific teacher. What I am trying to say is we dont just learn from our own mistakes, we learn fro mothers as well. (DONE WITH 3!) woop woop!
Katie, I agree with you. Our conuntry sometimes doesn't really see what is important. We need to know about our past so that we can learn from our mistakes. Then if we did that we would try harder to do something productive for country.
I see what your saying Britt. I never looked at it like that. =]
A society like 1984’s society alters their history so that it makes them look good. Makes people think they’re perfect and they have never done anything wrong. I agree with “who controls the past controls the future.” I agree with Brittney on that one. We control our own future. If we know how to do something right or if we discovered something, we would keep doing that in the future or keep using that technology. The future will be a better, productive place if we use things from the past. I do not believe in the slogans. They don’t even make sense. We should be peaceful to achieve peace. We should all be free to achieve freedom. We should be truthful to achieve truth.
It is very important to accurately remember and know everything about your history. Everything you do in the future depends on the past. For example, if African Americans were treated as slaves and that’s all they knew, they wouldn’t have revolted. A society would choose to alter history because they want that society to look the best. So they will try to say they haven’t done horrible things like enslave African Americans. The slogan “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” is very accurate. The present controls the past because they can alter what happened in the past by not telling the truth. And what happens in the past controls the future by learning. It’s kind of like a little kid. Everyone makes mistakes but they learn from it. So what a society does bad in the past, they learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
I agree with Taylor, history is what makes a person. It’s how they learn from there mistakes. Like Taylor said, the loss of Winston’s mom makes him mournful and wishes he wasn’t so selfish. For example, in the Loin King Mufasa dies in a fatal stampede accident trying to save his son. Simba, Mufasa’s son, takes all the blame for his death and lays down the title of being king and sets out for a new life. History changed his life.
No matter how you look at it, the past will have an effect on everybody. Your age, death, birth, country's beginning, the bible or in general your religion, your life eventually, etc.
Considering this, we need to embrace the future, which will soon be the past, and accept the present on which we shall look back on very shortly. There is no possible way to escape what has happened unless you are able to completely erase a person's memory or brainwash the person. Even if the we were to forget everything about how the world started, we would soon have the curiousity to search for an answer in which we have already found years before. So to complete the statement, you cannot live without the past, and if you can live without the past, how will you have a productive future? The same answes will appear as before your time.
I agree with Cody, we can’t control what happened in the past, but we can control what happens in the present and future because it will soon be the past. So take control is the present, do what is right. This way we won’t have to change the past because of something bad happening. Also, like Cody said, if we were going to start over, we are going to wonder the same questions we already had answers to. All the technology and information we have learned through all the years would be gone. You can’t live without the past. It’s like only reading the ending of a book. You would be curious to know what happened before and would try to find out. In conclusion, you can’t live without the past; it’s what makes the present and future.
I agree with ckennedy, events like 9/11 are very important for us to remember. serious events where people sacrificed their lives to protect their country should always be remembered and honored. We should not erase there good deeds just because we want a perfect future. Nothing is perfect, and no matter how you change things, it will still be remembered through those who experianced that piece of history.
I do believe that it is important to remember our history. It you dont know about the bad in our history then how are we going to overcome that.
WELL since im going against mrs. striby's word and posting back to back here i go
I agree with patrick that a country that remembers their past is willing to look to the future and try to prevent it from ever happening again. AS Mrs. Striby said Japan doesnt mention that they bombed us first. They are scared and dont want to get over it. They may say that they are over it but really deep down they arent.
Like people have blogged. 9/11 was a terrible time. Sorta. Yes it shows that we have a weakness, but it shows that our country is there and is ready to defend itself. what everybody hears is how many people died in the crash. What they dont hear is how many people helped those who werent dead. that number is far greater in number and in pride. In this instance it was necessary that we remember history. and the slogan for 1984, who ever controls the presnted controls the past, and who ever controls the past controls the future, (or something like that) is very true
I have to agree with Bmassing the fact that japan covered up its past shows that it wants to control their citizens from knowing something, which is control by way of controlling the past. Also the fact that some sources say no reference of the terrors we put indians through in the 1800's makes us believe we were pure as driven snow, but if we understood and remembered the true past then we would understand that no country is perfect and that we must continue to study the past to create a better future
I agree with Taylor 100% in Enders game when they cover up why they have to fight the buggers is not right at all. Ender might not have wanted to if he knew the real reason why he was fighting.
In my family my cousin was adopted and my aunt and uncle did not tell him until he was older. Surprisingly, he was not too upset. He did not want to meet his birth parents because that part of his history did not matter to him anymore. He said that if his parents did not want to keep him then he doesn't want to meet them.
I agree with everyone who said that we need our information about our past to make sure that we don't make the same mistakes. Also, I don't think that it is right for publishers to leave out needed info from different parts of history beacause if they do not include all of it then people make up their own theories of what happened and that' what starts even more debates.
testing for Becca
I do agree with Andrea and Caitlin about when they said we learn from the past. We do learn from each others mistakes and if we did not know about the past, then how could we learn. About a year ago one of my cousins passed away at the age of 16. It was a total shock to all of us. Now thinking back, I can remember all the great memories we had. If we forgot about the past then I would never remember my cousin or any of our memories. See remembering the past is very important to me and now that I see my cousin's grave, it makes me want to live my life to the fullest and I know that's what he wants me to do. So something from my past is going to help my future.
I believe it is important to accurately remember our history. I believe this because whether we are embarrassed of it or not, you cannot change what has happened. The past has made our country and our world what we are today. For example, if everyone blocked out every bad memory they had of themselves, then they would not truly know why they are the way they are. The slogan of the party that states "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past" is a very false statement. You may say that something didn’t happen, but the fact is, you cannot change the past. For example, in 1984, there are people who had lived before the party had started. This shows that there are always people there who know the truth in their heart.
Well I do not agree with Tori when she says that the quote, "Who controls the past controls the future, and who controls the future controls the present," is a false statement. I mean look at our past. It has affected our future. Like in the past a white person could not go to the same school as a black person. But now it's the future and things have changed. So I do not agree. I think that is a very strong quote.
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