Should we feel guilty for history?

[Soul Saver]

There are certain points in history where things happened that are considered reprehensible and barbaric by most of modern society. Slavery, racism, genocide, sexism, etc. We would be none too proud if such things happened today. However, back then, all were considered acceptable and a part of every day life by one mainstream group or another, due to socio-cultural perceptions. We can't change the past. Should we feel guilty that it happened, and apologise for the actions of our ancestors? Should we brand all of them barbaric in comparison to us, for that which they believed was rational and justified by their view?

It is true that society has moved on, that we know alot more, understand alot more, and that the outlook of most people has changed, due to increased knowledge, understanding, and tolerance. However, we still stand on the shoulders of our forefathers, and without the achievements of ages past, we wouldn't be here.
We have more understanding, and an understanding of why such things happened, and should look at the past in hindsight. We shouldn't whitewash history and take every chance to condemn our ancestors as savages out of guilt, but look at it rationally. Our ancestors had different world views and less understanding, and we are really in no position to apologise for what is no longer in living memory.

Thoughts?

 

[Saix]

In what passing, fleeting thoughts I have regarding our ancestry, I look back on deeds done with relief and satisfaction knowing that a different generation had those experiences, consequently creating a level of understanding within us which, ultimately, pushed a majority of negativity out of our society today. This is arguable considering how much of it still lingers today, though for the most part, we as a community have evolved, deriving aspects of understanding equality and diversity in others.

I'm not ashamed of what our mostly long-deceased families had done and felt, though I pity those that cling to it so passionately - be they victims or otherwise; we're hardly responsible merely because of our background. Am I guilty for misdeeds? No.

 

[Donald Trump]

What my ancestors did in the past is beyond my control. They may have done some very nasty things, but I didn't do those things. I feel sorry for those who are still suffering from what happened in the past, but there is no need for me to feel guilty. I don't see why anyone should feel guilty for something they didn't cause or influence in anyway. It just seems very pointless to me.

 

[Moogles]

Should we feel guilty? Nah. I may feel guilty if--you know--I was guilty of something. That isn't the case, though. As mentioned already, I see no reason to feel guilty for something I played no role in.

 

[der Astronom]

Why apologize for something that happened before you even existed, and for which you cannot change? It's true that you can acknowledge the errors of the past--but then you must also acknowledge that these are errors that you neither caused by your own will nor can you change them. You can never proceed into the future and exist in the present by dwelling on an unchangeable past. Nor can you hope to change the future or make decisions in the present without knowing the errors of the past.

It is one thing to know, and another to change. Know the past, but change the future.

 

[SaShman]

There is no point feeling guilty for something that happened before you were born.

As for branding our ancestors errors as 'barbaric', it is all matter of perspective. While slavery, racism, sexism ect.. may seem barbaric to us now, it was considered a norm several generations ago.

In my opinion it is correct to label the mistakes of the past as barbaric, but I also understand that future generations will most likely label some of our current norms as incorrect or barbaric, whats more is, if I live another 60 - 70 years I will probably look back and label a few of societies current norms as incorrect or barbaric.

 

[Soul Saver]

Seems everyone is in unanimous agreement so far.
Thing is, there are those who do apologise for history, and denounce and feel ashamed by their own culture, even, because of what is now long past. It's a shame, but true.

 

[Donald Trump]

Seems everyone is in unanimous agreement so far.
Thing is, there are those who do apologise for history, and denounce and feel ashamed by their own culture, even, because of what is now long past. It's a shame, but true.

I denounce some parts of modern culture, if not my own exactly. For instance, I firmly believe all wiggers should be shot.
We can recognise that what our ancestors did wasn't necessarily right, ethicaly and morally wrong in some cases, but that doesn't mean we should feel guilty.

While slavery, racism, sexism ect.. may seem barbaric to us now, it was considered a norm several generations ago.

So you're saying that because a lot of people did it, it's okay?
Cool, what bout all dem dere Jews Hitler killed, there were lots of guys in the Einzatsgruppen. Must mean that killing all dem Jews was fine.
Also people back in dem ole days still saw slavery as bad. John Calhoun, the most famous fire eating politician ever, saw slavery as an evil, albeit a necessary one.

 

[Rydia]

I wouldn't feel bad and why should I? I had nothing to do with any of those events that occured. Which I also think it's bs when people sit there and bitch and moan about things that happened in the past and try to point fingers at people in this day in age.

 

[Valkyrur]

I feel that what happened in the past is literally history.
Its over already, and considering i couldn't have helped made a difference, i don't see the need to apologize for any possible misdeeds done.
What we would need to learn would be to forgive and forget, despite how great and bad the misdeeds were.

 

[der Astronom]

I wouldn't be surprised if these same people that bitched and moaned about the past say we are an ignorant generation. It is ignorance to deny that the past happened and to learn nothing from it. But it is not ignorance to accept that the errors of the past happened, while knowing that nothing you do changes it.

People's emotions are impossible.

 

[Valkyrur]

Hm, true. They most probably label us ignorant cos' we didn't experience what they went through during that age..
And well, ya, we are definitely not ignorant to know the fact that nothing we do now can ever changed what happened in the past.
Unfortunately, not many seem to understand that and just continue to cling on to this hatred they have against their country's past enemies..
We're already living in a modern world now, lols. Its time to pick up the pieces and move on, i guess.

 

[Bambi]

I don't see why we should feel guilty for our ancestors, what's in the past is in the past and it's not like we have personally done any of these things.

It annoys me when poeple appologise for their ancestors wrong doings. What possible difference would it make really?

Times change and way back when was a different time to now. Meh

 

[SaShman]

So you're saying that because a lot of people did it, it's okay?

Sorry you missed my point, what I'm saying is that it was considered normal several generations ago, but is clearly NOT okay in western society by todays standards.

Cool, what bout all dem dere Jews Hitler killed, there were lots of guys in the Einzatsgruppen. Must mean that killing all dem Jews was fine.

Incorrect, though the Einzatsgruppen believed that killing those Jews was fine, it is quite clear that the rest of the world disagree. Not to mention that modern Germany is disgusted by the Nazis (to the point of it being illegal to display a Swastika).

Also people back in dem ole days still saw slavery as bad. John Calhoun, the most famous fire eating politician ever, saw slavery as an evil, albeit a necessary one.

Hmmm John Calhoun? Wasn't he the guy who claimed slavery was a "positive good" on the grounds of white supremacy and paternalism? Anyway, yes alot of politicians said slavery was a necessary evil (Calhoun being one of the few who didn't) however, the southern states of America generally saw slavery as a norm even if they thought it was evil.

You seemed to have misunderstood what I said, I meant that conventional views on whats right, whats wrong and whats normal, change across different cultures and generations.

 

[Erythritol]

No way. I don't feel guilty at all for anything that my ancestors did that was potentially offensive/atrocious. Everyone should be held accountable for their own actions. Unfortunately, I feel like many people still hold people today accountable for what their ancestors did. Case in point: Germany. People still call Germans Nazis, despite the fact it is HIGHLY illegal to bring any Nazi propaganda into the country or to possess any of it within Germany. There are currently more Nazis in America than in Germany. I *hate* when people call Germans Nazis. All it shows is that people are ignorant.

 

[MadMikeTheSpike]

I don't think we should be ashamed of our past even though it's a dark past indeed. We have to learn from it and move on. The most important part of making a mistake is learning from it. Unfortunately we see things happen every day that tell us that we AREN'T learning from it.

JFK once said 'a country that does not know it's history may be destined to relive it.'
If we don't learn from the mistakes that our ancestors made, the same stuff is gonna happen again. And I believe that it will lead to America falling.

 

[Casanova]

I think that over time, the human race has gradually matured. It's been a slow process but at this point in time, we've grown enough as a race to understand the fact that what our ancestors may or may not have done to one another would be deemed as completely unnacceptable in today's world.

Whether or not we should feel ashamed of what our ancestors did or not is one person's decision, not a whole race's. You see, one other thing we have developed over all these hundreds of years is a great sense of personal awareness, we have learned to think and feel for ourselves more. Though some would argue that we still have a lot more growing to do, I think we're a far cry away from mobbing up and burning someone tied to a stake because one person told us to.

 

[Coco]

What Karl said was enlightening.

Know the past, change the future.​

If anything I am actually thankful that it was not us who committed those, shall we say, 'mistakes'.

We shouldn't feel burdened by what our previous generations did, because that was ultimately their choice. Nor should we hold grudges against the ancestors who wronged our ancestors.

I'm glad I live in this generation, where people are, not completely, but at least more respectful and open to different cultures without fear of inferiority complex. It just shows how much we learned and changed.

 

[Ironman]

I don't really care what my ancestors did, or even what some of the main figures in history did, i may find somethings in history a bit disturbing but if you think about it, if some of the horrific parts in history didn't happen the world could be massively different, and we might never have been born like we were

 

[Erythritol]

I think that over time, the human race has gradually matured. It's been a slow process but at this point in time, we've grown enough as a race to understand the fact that what our ancestors may or may not have done to one another would be deemed as completely unnacceptable in today's world.

Whether or not we should feel ashamed of what our ancestors did or not is one person's decision, not a whole race's. You see, one other thing we have developed over all these hundreds of years is a great sense of personal awareness, we have learned to think and feel for ourselves more. Though some would argue that we still have a lot more growing to do, I think we're a far cry away from mobbing up and burning someone tied to a stake because one person told us to.

As much as I'd love to believe all of that, I can't. I don't think the human race has really matured very much, if at all. We've just learned to cover our tracks better so we appear more sophisticated and civilized. The Holocaust was only 60 or so years ago, and it occured in a western, 'civilized' nation. The ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity carried out by the Japanese also only occured 60 years ago. That's barely any time at all. I could give you a hideous laundry list of countries and leaders guilty of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide within the past 50 years. How about what's happening right now in Darfur, or Zimbabwe, or even Myanmar? The international reaction to any of these situations has been inadequate at best (though I suppose Myanmar is a difficult situation). Countless times, the United States has stood by and done NOTHING as tyranical regimes commit atrocity after atrocity. Sometimes the United States even BACKS the regime!

So maybe we have come a bit of a ways since the Roman circus days, but I wouldn't be patting the human race on the back quite yet. :/