issue 48求拍
人生第三篇issue
烦请各位拍砖
多谢多谢
TOPIC: ISSUE48 - "The study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends in history were made possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten."
The speaker claims that the study of history pays too much attention on the contribution of individuals but it is the majority of people who contribute most to the significant process of the history. In my point of view, although some individuals have contributed a lot to the development of the history, the vast majority of common people whose names are not known are those that actually decide the trend of the whole history. Thus, the fact that many history studies which focus too much on individuals but not the groups of people should be changed.
Admittedly, there are outstanding individuals that once influence the world significantly. Their fascinating talent, their ambiguous minds, their constant efforts all makes it possible for them to influence the world. And thus I have to admit that they worth being recorded in the history. Martin Luther King worked hard to change people's prejudice against black people and the history records his gorgeous speech. Hitler brings pain and sorrow to the whole world in the past century in World War Two, and history records his crime to the human race. As I see it, the effects and influences, good or bad, are all worth being recorded in the history because only in that way can we learn more about the past and get stimulants to improve our current condition.
However, nowadays history tends to be filled with so many stories of famous people that the history books are more or less the collection of bibliographies. As this is the case, overlooking the contribution of the vast majority and emphasize too much on the individuals is unwise because during each period of the history, the contribution of the vast majority can never eliminated. Whether during war time or the peace time, the majority people are in fact responsible in deciding the general trend of the history.
During war time, we see the Chinese soldiers fighting fearlessly against the Japanese invaders in the 1930s and the 1940s for eight years. Nobody will remember the names of those hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting on the battle field. However, it was their efforts, their anger, their fearlessness that changed the history. It is true that the strategy of the leader of a team is vital to the success of a single battle, but as to the whole success of a long march, it is common people's support, common soldiers' willingness to succeed that finally decide the result of a war.
As to the peaceful period of time, we see common workers working hard to contribute to the development of the industry. We see voters examining carefully in selecting a new president. We see boycott of thousands of workers asking for protecting the environment. It is those common people that are changing the history everyday. Admittedly the studies of scientists or economists contribute greatly to the development of a single industry or the economy of a whole society. However, it is those common people who can make the dreams of those individuals come true.
Thus, the analysis from the above indicates the significant role of those unknown groups of people in influencing the history. Although outstanding individuals are important in the process of history, paying too much attention on them to forget about the hard work of common people can be extremely dangerous. If the history studies tend to focus more on the individual, people may have a kind of illusion that one can handle the world without considering the circumstances of the society which is the decision part in the direction in the development of the history. Martin Luther King cannot possibly influence the world with his speech without the strong willingness of the people in eliminating the unfair law against black people. Hitler's ambition of conquering the world finally came to a complete failure because he went against people's willingness for peace.
In sum, I tend to agree with the speaker's claim and believe that although the important role of some individuals are worth recorded in the history, our study of history should focus more on the contribution of common people who finally decide the trend of the history.
