History relates not only to past events but to their discovery, collection, presentation, organization, and interpretation as well. The history of mankind goes along with the histories of people’s lives, global events go along with insignificant ones, and every historical event interpreted by people may be associated both with happiness and grief. My personal example is September 11, 2001, which may be defined as one of the most tragic days in American history when coordinated terrorist attacks have led to the death of thousands of innocent citizens.
For the majority of people all over the world, this event is interpreted as a great disaster. However, for me, this day is associated with both pleasant and highly negative emotions. First of all, I was just recently married and was full of joy and happiness due to this event in my life. At the same time, September 11, 2001, is also a tragic day for me as for thousands of Americans as I have lost my friend who had visited the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks. Thus, history cannot be regarded in one common way as all events are interpreted by people individually on the basis of their knowledge, experience, and personal characteristics.
At the same time, as a collection of events, history frequently depends on people’s social structures, culture, and beliefs. Thus, people may be left out of the historical narrative despite their contributions if their gender, race, age, or socioeconomic status are considered inferior. For instance, black women and their contributions to history were disregarded by society due to racial discrimination (Rothman, 2016). That is why history cannot be considered the same as truth – while it is made up of heroes, some extraordinary and talented people are excluded on the basis of subjective criteria.
Reference
Rothman, L. (2016). A reminder that ‘history’ is always incomplete.Time.