Historical Amnesia Case Study

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Historical amnesia occurs when citizens of the country either know little or entirely nothing about their country’s past. This is predominately noticeable among the younger population, whom are either not interested or exposed to the content. Results of a survey conducted by IPS further showed that most Singaporeans recall more about present developments of the country as compared to the past of Singapore. There was already a slowly growing importance for history which was used to facilitate the development of Singapore in the past. Why should we then, stop using history in the development of Singapore today? Therefore, I believe that historical amnesia cannot be an option in the construction of the nation. Firstly, the most common benefit of studying history is that we can learn from past mistakes. This ensures that we are much more aware about the potential consequences of our decisions, by studying the disastrous result that happened in the past. By studying the …show more content…

This is especially so for which the history of Singapore is just a poor representation of the country ability to be an independent state itself. Past historical events often portrayed Singapore as part of a bigger state or power. So much so that it may give a wrong impression of the actual capability of Singapore. S.Rajaratnam believed, these historical events are minute as compared to the many centuries of history other countries can have. While I do agree that not all of our past is something to be proud of, that does not mean we should forget all of it. It is because of these ‘negative periods’ that lead to the birth of an independent Singapore. By remembering these past, it spurs us to remember that we ourselves should be the one protecting our nation soil and not anybody else. Forgetting our past is equivalent to forgetting how an independent Singapore is

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