Manifesto of History

What is history?

History is inspiration.

History is the feats of great people, the thoughts of the brilliant, and the triumphs of whole cultures, societies, and movements. We look to history to show us the capabilities of the human spirit. From those who overcame the seemingly impossible to those that did something wholly new to mankind, we look for proofs of what can be achieved. From spreading empires over large percentages of the globe to individual feats such as inventing something never before seen, we look to history to show us what we are capable of. Throughout time studying history has shown us that there are those whose greatness is without question. History tells us that being human is exceptional.

History is a lesson.

From the Crusades to the Hindenburg to Hitler, history shows us the darkest reaches of humanity’s capacity for folly and evil. It shows us the results of an insatiable ego and lust for power. It illuminates the basest parts of the soul; greed, ignorance, divisiveness. It sets these things up to the light for all to see and judge. It dissects the power structures and the trends that lend themselves to the devolution of character. It questions our very evolution past the most basic of human desires. It shows us the conquerors, the oppressors, the liars and the thieves. It shows us the enslaved and the persecuted. History tells us that being human is a struggle.

History is a mirror.

The present moment, once exhaled, becomes the past. That past is our history. When looking upon ourselves in a mirror, we look into the eyes of our present selves. And like the moment exhaled, in a mirror everything in the image beyond our own selves is behind. As far as the eye can see, stretching out as far as an endless horizon is this past. And so it is in this mirror, in this present moment that history touches the present, so then we see beyond into the face of who we have been, and of who we are. We become history. As such, in the eyes of history we see our true selves. We see in history our humanity and our link to all the experiences that are being human. We see our greatness and our shame. We see the moments when we feel nothing can stop us to the moments when we feel nothing. In essence, to look at history is to see our own selves. History tells us what being human is.

The historian holds the mirror.

            Once we have looked into the eyes of history and realized that what we have seen is ourselves, we as historians have met with our obligation to look for truth, for if anyone should look into their own selves and not seek the truth of what is there, then the life in which they live is fraudulent and thus worthless. So the charge of the historian is then to find the truth of humanity as if examining his or her own soul. If we truly look into history with this goal, what we will find is ourselves, and knowing ourselves, we will be equipped to move forward into the unknown future with confidence and purpose, with action and compassion.