A Discussion on The Possibility of Finding The Truth About The Past

Introduction

According to Reiner. “When we speak of finding the truth about the past we deal with two major concepts ‘”History and history”’ which are two different definitions on their own which can lead to the proper understanding about the past. According to Renier, G. further states“History is an attempt by historians to try and reconstruct the past and history is something that we all experience, things which have already happened in the past’’,(1992). The possibility of finding the truth about the past It all rounds up to the validity of the evidence and how it was obtained in order to find the relevance of it. The main question still lingers, is it really possible to find the truth about the past? And the debates still continues as Erika sates that “once a moment has come and gone, there’s no way of knowing what exactly happened”(June 30,2013) meaning that it is very hard in order for people who were not present at the event to understand all of this, even though it is recreated it still will not be the same. As stated by Erika she strongly believes that once it’s in the past it is inevitable for one to know what exactly took place.

According to People are not the same and have different ways of understanding things for example the Jason and Phillip “Genocide that happened in Namibia, people have different views and opinions of this past events and it all depends on the different people it affected, some people might find it as true and the rest as just as a fuse, like the ovahereoes ancestors that were tortured and tormented in the past led to the bitterness of the ovahereoes against Germans and when this stories of such kind are recreated by historians it is regarded as the truth”,(26 December, 2016)but only for those that were effected by it. so once again it all depends on the relevance of it to the people.

For people that were advantaged by the past once this stories are recreated by historians they have the tendency to criticize it by all means raising points and facts as to why it is impossible to find the truth about what happened in the past. Reasons to the importance of why we need to find out the truth about the past It is necessary to find the truth about the past due to many reasons, history is very important aspect in life and the need to find out about it is based upon many reasons. Peter N, states that History helps us in order to understand people and their societies, (1998). By doing this we are able to learn more about the lives of people and how they were affected by the past, once one is aware of someone’s background it is easier to have a better understanding of them and from where they come from. Peter N. further states that finding out the truth is for the betterment of ourselves.

As an individual one needs to know from where they are coming from and how they got to the point where they are now. Everybody needs an understanding and a belief at which they stand for as to a result of things that happened already in the past. Every individual needs a correct identity and a foreground to which they are in support of. Peter N. further points out that Studying history is essential for good citizenship,(1998). For example people of a certain country who believe in their past history and still study it have a strong spirit of nationalism within them. Once citizens of a particular country make it a necessity to study their history they become more equipped and aware of what has happened and they are not doomed to repeat the past mistakes over and over again, like their ancestors did, they educate and prevent such things from happening over and over again. Study history is undeniably very important and necessary. Peter N. concludes that we study history to gain access to the laboratory of human experience. With this said history is a very vital aspect to the existence of humankind and therefore cannot be ignored but further studied. How does one find out about the past? There are many ways as to how one can find out about the past, and various mediums as to how one can do so.

Though Archeological evidence, old remains and things are dug up from underground in order for them to be studied and some of this things are found in museum. Visiting the archives which store a lot of archeological evidences, with vast amounts of information. Out of a few there are many ways of finding out about information of the past such as through historical books and movies, reading the newspaper, internet, photos, art, friends and family, magazines, visiting historical sites and performances,(Kyralief,march 21,2018). The effects of finding the truth about the past Schultz says that “some materials are simply propaganda intentionally containing little or no truth”,(June,2003). Some of this past historical events are only told for political gains and are only here in order to confuse the people.

There are many stories that are circulating around both truth and lies which disrupts the economic development of a country. Some information may be biased and sensitive to many communities, like for example the genocide whereby a group of Namibian people were tortured and tormented like animals and then killed is topic that is indeed very sensitive to people and the truth about it might be harmful to people so in such cases as this some of this topics are avoided to prevent any damage or harm to persons. Some information may be private and can ruin nations resulting in the repetition of the past. Schultz further argues that in such conflict it becomes increasingly difficult to uncover the authentic history due to the continual cycle of interpretation and propaganda. Once this conflicts about the past starts affecting the people it is very hard and inevitable for there no be a conflict of such kinds and this also disrupts historical evidences and leaves people thinking and wondering on which is the truth and which is not.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in order for one to find out about whether or not it is possible to find out about the past one first needs to know and understand what the difference between “History and history” is. The truth about the historical past all rounds up to evidence and the validity of the information given. Finding the truth about the past is very important for each and every person as an individual for ones assurance and identity. There are many ways as to how one can come in contact with information about the past and ways ast to how to make use of those various ways and archeologist have made it possible for us in many ways. Finding out about the past has led to many different effects and this can carefully be avoided in order to avoid repeating past mistakes.