8/8/2019 Does a Study of History Make You Optimistic or Pessimistic About the Future of the Human Race

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Does a study of history make you optimistic or pessimistic about thefuture of the human race?

Studying about history make people feel negative about the future ofhuman beings. First of all, humans still repeat what they had done in

the past, they do not learn any lesson from their mistakes such as warand genocide still exist. Another thing is the suffering of humanitiesfrom the consequences of past events even though they have finished.

The human races historical events are repeated. Wars are the goodexamples to illustrate the argument. World War II breaks out in 1939,only a short time from the end of World War I which is in 1918. Worse,the second World War is the most obscene experience that humannature overcomes. More than 60 million people die, including 20million soldiers and 40 million citizens compare to approximately 1million in the previous war. Not only in the global scale, wars between

countries happen everyday, especially between America and othernations. After the horrified lost from Vietnam War in the 70s,Americans hope that no war will ever occur again. However, decadeslater, the country begins a new battle against Afghanistan and Iraq atthe moment, make thousands of young peoples lives either lost ordeal with mental illnesseses. War again shatters the hearts of mothersand fathers, who know well about the destruction of wars bothphysically and mentally in Vietnam War. The authorities have notlearnt from the lesson in the past that war is the deadliest incident thathuman beings shall not let it happen. It is confirmed why a study ofhistory makes the experts feel pessimistic of the future of human

beings.

Genocides, beside wars, are the occurences that happen again andagain. One of the earliest genocides that humans ever know is thesystematic massacre of Jewish people by the Nazis in World War II. It iscalled the Holocaust. Nearly six million Jews are shot or poisoned in gaschambers under the command of Adolf Hitler. People expect that this isthe only genocide in the 20th century. Yet another famous mass-extermination with smaller affect is occurred in Cambodia. The KhmerRouge regime executes intellectuals, people related to the formergovernment and ethnic groups. 15 20% of Cambodia population is

killed. The worlds publicity says that they will not let another action ofhumanities destruction happen again. Still, while these words are beingtyped, a civil war is going on in Darfur, Sudan and 300,000 innocentshave already been eradicated according to the UN. The suffering ofcivilians after these genocides should have been counted, too, since itis a main factor contribute to the pessimism of the future of humanrace.

8/8/2019 Does a Study of History Make You Optimistic or Pessimistic About the Future of the Human Race

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On the other hand, the torment that people have to face with after theconflicts affect the future of human nature. After the war passes,hundreds of Vietnamese youths are born with disfigured bodies. Theycannot live a normal life like other people. The Agent Orange chemicalis still existed in the water sources, the soil and the bloodstream of the

veterans and their succeeded generations. Who knows whether thechildren of these young people will endure the fate like their parents ornot? The future of a whole nation are being spoiled although the warhas ended.

Overall, the studying of history makes me feel pessimistic about thefuture of human race. Nations around the world continue to fightagainst each other and massacre the innocents though they havelearnt from the past that wars and genocides will lead human beingsinto miseries. The consequences of these conflicts will affect not onlycivilians living in that time, but also influence their children and

grandchildren. The Agent Orange syndrome in Vietnam is the liveliestillustration of this argument.

Thuy Vi Yr 11.