Past and Future- English Argumentative Essay

"There is no point in preserving the past. We should be looking to the future." Do you agree with this statement?

Seperating past, present and future is a mistake many people tend to make. The past, present and future are entwined in each other, and most apparently, the past is deeply embedded in the future. Often, youngsters feel that the past is unimportant, and that we ought to be looking to the future. This is a deadly, fatal, and extremely misguided way of thinking; are they even thinking at all? History teaches us many valuable lessons in life, for our time and the future generations to come. Harsh, unreasonable demands and unfair terms in the Treaty of Versailles France and Britain forced Germany to accept was one of the main causes for the rise of the Nazi party, and the start of World War II. This caused devastation to the whole of Europe, and much of America and Asia. Subsequent political leaders take this as a warning from the past, and now there are committees and organisations set up to ensure that countries are not forced to accept unreasonable and unfair terms in treaties, such as the United Nations. However, if leaders do not keep this warning in mind, history may repeat itself. For example, if the United States' invasion of Iraq caused them too much hardship and suffering, extremist groups and terrorists could be even more incensed and gain even greater support from their countrymates. This would be dreadful for the entire world, especially in light of increased globalisation. The collapse of one country would have far greater impacts now on the rest of the world than in 1939. Thus, leaders must be careful not to ignore forewarnings from the past in their decisions affecting the future. Another example of the past being inseperable from the future would be economics. In the economic history of the Great Depression, economists warned that one of the causes was "the large-scale corporate thimblerigging that was going on", meaning the fact that banks invested great amounts of money in stocks. One investment house sold nearly a billion dollars worth of securities in three investment trusts, all of which depreciated eventually to nothing. Thus, in 1971, the Glass-Steagall Act was passed, banning commercial banks from entering the investment banking business, either directly or indirectly. The reasons Congress had in mind when passing the act proved prophetic three decades later, after Bill Clinton repealed the Act in 1999. Repealing Glass-Steagall led to a huge surge in subprime mortage market growth and dominance, and it is the belief of many that repealing the act was the key factor in today's subprime mortage crisis, threatening to plunge the world into yet another Great Depression. Ignoring the reasons behind the passing of the Act, and the history behind it, could prove a fatal mistake for the US economy. Hence, failing to look to the past has proved to be a great mistake, and should not be repeated. History should not be allowed to repeat itself. The past not only is inseperable from the future, but in fact determines it. Understanding our roots and preserving cultural heritage is key in establishing our values and the way we act. Our past is an integral part of our identity, governing everything we do and circumscribing our future. We often make decisions based on our values, such as deciding not to travel overseas because of the Chinese value of filial piety to parents. If we lose track of our heritages and traditions, we lose part of ourselves, especially our values and and beliefs. This is becoming even more important in our increasingly Westernised world, as Asian values and traditions are being swept up and pushed away by Western popular culture. Traditional, family-based Asian values are immensely significant to establishing our Asian identity, and maintaining our community spirit and thus, national pride. This is a factor that many Singaporeans tend to forget, and one of the key thrusts in improving National Education is to establish a greater sense of Asian values in our young. Our past determines our values; our values determine how we act; our actions determine our future. Neglecting our past is equivalent to depriving our future, and confining it to random, commercialised values from the present. This could very well be a horrible and appalling reality, and should not be allowed to happen. The past and the future are not two seperate entitites--they are merely relative perceptions of the same thing. Failing to recognise the importance of either one is a deadly mistake, and warnings from the past definitely cannot be ignored. The importance of preserving our cultural heritage and identity is also inimitably tremendous in our increasingly globalised world, and thus, it is completely untrue that there is no point in preserving the past. Looking to the future is, in fact, looking to the past.