Why I may give history class another chance

In the summer of 2009, a young Minnesotan-born, California-educated hiker visited a scenic waterfall on the border of Iraq and Iran. He and his two traveling partners wandered off the beaten path and ventured a bit too close to said border. After a run-in with Iranian border patrol, they found themselves spending the next two years detained for charges of espionage in a prison in Tehran.

On the way to the waterfall. So many trees!

In the summer of 2013, another young Minnesotan-born, California-educated hiker visited that waterfall …but kept her adventurous inclinations under control, and traveled safely home at the end of the day. Under normal hiking circumstances I am all about exploration, especially when tall vantage points beckon and waterfalls are involved. But not today; history was not about to repeat itself.

On the way to our waterfall hike today, I experienced an even more significant desire for history to never be repeated. We visited a memorial dedicated to the 5000 civilians of Halabja that were brutally killed by chemical weapons on March 16, 1988, during the Iraq-Iran War.

Confession: It possibly has taken me until yesterday to admit that history may be useful. I don’t mean to offend those of you who enjoy history, but I often question how practical it is in my daily operations. Yes, I know we should learn from our fellow humans’ mistakes and successes to create a better future. But rarely do dates of wars or AP US History trivia come into consideration when I get up each morning and live out my day.

Between our waterfall hike and time at the memorial, I think I may finally understand why I should give history a chance. Not a chance at a double major, but at some over-due appreciation…

Inside the memorial

Sometimes the caution “history repeats itself” may actually matter like they say it does. Most history we study in school is far removed from my life, and unless I become someone much louder, important, or presidential, my decisions will never be in danger of causing those textbook-scale repetitions. But history on a personal level, as stories of positive or negative consequences of actions similar to my own, has infinite value. Some things, like accidental espionage into Iran, don’t fall into the “learn by trying and failing” category.

I don’t think many of us will ever be in the position to make a decision with potential to lead to a tragic event like the bombing of Halabja. But all of us humans battle against the same fallen-world motivations that led to this horrific event…greed, pride, power, retaliation, injustice. So history shouldn't lead to shallow hate-causing blame, or far-removed pity, or despair. It can instead remind us that although for a time we will all repeat these mistakes on many scales, there is another type of repetition in history: the infinite chances to listen, learn, and next time choose differently.