In class last week, both Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Bolos mentioned George Orwell’s quote from his the book, Nineteen Eighty-Four:
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."
I interpreted this quote as Orwell’s desire for us all to study history. In my opinion, when he uses the word “controls”, he means “understands.” I took this quote to mean that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. Therefore, a person who “understands” the mistakes and successes from the past will “understand” what to do for the future. Whereas a person who is only focusing on the present is ignoring the lessons from the past. Many times we are told to “live in the moment”. However, in my belief, Orwell is saying that if all you do is live in the present, you are risking being narrow-minded and oblivious.
Orwell says that we all must be knowledgeable about the past in order to make the best decisions in the present that will best impact the future.
I have to agree with you, Brooks. People who focus purely on the present do not learn from mistakes they and others have made in the past. I think of the word "controls" as "to make use of." Making use of the present is not necessarily a bad thing, however. If you focus on the past, you will forget to be productive. What might be considered "narrow-minded" is being oblivious to our ever-changing world. By the way, I like the comic!
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you about understanding the past is the best way to pursue the future. My only idea that I would like to hear what you both think is, if you are living in the present moment won't you know the past because it was a previous moment you had been living? Or are we talking about historical pasts that were way before our time? Does that make sense? Or by saying you live in the moment disregards all the previous moments you had been living in? I agree when Henry says that living in the moment is being seen as oblivious and I think sometimes be seen as reckless.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I was talking about the collective historical past, rather than one person’s past. For example, in order to understand affirmative action in America, you would have to know the context because otherwise it would make absolutely no sense for African Americans to get special treatment. However if you know the history of their enslavement, followed by their lack of civil rights even after they gained their freedom, then at least you can understand why there would be affirmative action, even if you don’t agree with it.
ReplyDelete