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Kunwoo Kim

Mrs. Pagnani

English 8

18 March 2018

Past Before Future

“A nation that forgets its past had no future.”

-Winston Churchill

There are many elements to make a better future. However the most important element

is learning history, as it describes as the quote above by Winston Churchill. Also, people might

have failed at the past, but they can succeed on the future based on the history, because failure

is the mother of success. The reason that it is important to study the history is because it can

help people to make a better future by making better decision and having a good relationship

with other people, based on the history.

First, people can make better decision, by learning history. For example, people

sometimes make bad decision, like using atomic bomb to end the World War II. The text from

Hiroshima by John Hersey, “….but much of Hiroshima as he could see through the clouded air

was giving off a thick, dreadful miasma” (Hersey, 10) support that how terrible was the

situation after the atomic bomb was dropped. So based on this bad decision, there was no more

use of atomic bomb for the war. This is just a one of the element to make better future. However,

it is hard to make better future only by making good decisions.

Second, learning history can help people understand people form foreign countries,

and have a good relationship with them. In The Diary of Anne Frank, Mr. Frank says, “That’s
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how I found out about my wife’s death… of Margot, the Van Danns,.. Dussel” (Goodrich &

Hockett, 564) shows that Germany did horrible things to the victims of the holocaust, including

Mr. Frank’s family. By this, now people can understand why Germany allows more refugees

from the Middle East countries. Because they feel apologetic for the victims, they are helping

refugees. Understanding foreign people can make better society.

Learning history help people not to repeat the wrong things they did, and help to

understand people from other countries. And these eventually lead people to make better

society, and future, which is the reason why learning history is important. So do not just hate

to learn history, learn to develop our future.

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Works Cited

Goodrich, Frances, and Albert Hackett. "The Diary of Anne Frank." 1955. Literature Grade 8,

edited by Holt McDougal, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012, pp. 510-65.

Hersey, John. Hiroshima. New York, Vintage Books, 1989.