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History Has Its Eyes on You 

How our actions echo through history 

I have been into history for some time now. I never understood why my mum was so keen on me reading history books or watching historical documentaries when I was much younger. But without knowing, the hours of watching and reading about historical figures and events have shaped my reading and movie preferences. 

In the musical Hamilton, Washington tells Hamilton that he can never escape from history. No matter how hard he tries, he can never alter how the future sees him because every step he takes is already recorded in history. His good, his bad, all seen by witnesses. 

"I know that we can win

I know that greatness lies in you 

But remember from here now on 

History has its eyes on you."

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But do our actions really echo through time? 

I know many of my peers who don't like learning about history. To them, those who can remember the exact years of when each event happens are "show-offs"; to them, those who learn history can't be bothered about the future, always focused in the past. And they're not wrong— history is indeed just records of past events. It's just that some are more impactful than some. 

As Pachinko's first line says, "History has failed us," history has failed us from time to time again. With the repeat of history, the forceful silence of certain marginalised groups, the failure to address certain events—history has failed all of us. We are left with complex historical events being simplified. For example, World War 2 is always taught as "good vs. evil," but rarely do we go into the real reason why WW2 occurred, which is slightly linked to WW1. 

Often seemed boring to students (not if you're a history student), history covers the cultural aspect of some individuals who may not be able to access information directly from others in the same community or race as them. Without history, how are we supposed to "learn from the past"? 

Without history, how are we supposed to know that wars bring more disruption than what was promised by the leaders who started them? All the wars that humans have seen till now all end with more chaos than order. Wars between countries will always result in one winning and one in ruins—both sides of people injured, dead, and missing or suffering from the trauma caused to achieve "peace." For example, the Korean War. South Korea benefitted from the war and experienced significant economic growth, which was aided by the support of US. Meanwhile, North Korea will forever be the losers of this war, as they have remained isolated and closed to the whole world (until shown otherwise). 

We are products of historical events. Generations of love and marriage resulted in where and who we are today. Without these historical events, where will be now? Non-existent. With this example, it shows we are all shaped and impacted by choices made in the past. If Washington is right and everything we do is seen, all our choices make us who we are today. No matter how we try to change our past, it is all written and recorded down—we have no control. 

In the words of Min Jin Lee, "It is not that historians aren't doing their jobs but rather the memory of history has been reconstructed by the elite, because the overwhelming majority of ordinary people rarely leave sufficient primary documents; they do not have others recording their lives in real time." But no matter how history has failed us, ordinary people go on with their lives anyway. So it doesn't matter if history has failed us. History has shaped our minds on what is right and what is wrong, with evidence for past events. History shaped our culture and what we believe in since so many festivals, laws, and memories that we hold are rooted in historical events. For example, Christians celebrate Easter, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is only one example of an event rooted in a historical event. 

We are rooted in history, and we are living in history. The history that school children in the future will learn about. The history that will be studied more intensely by history majors in the future. The history may be oversimplified, so it seems more digestible. The world has changed, the world is changing, and the world will change—even after all of us are gone. But no matter what, history will remain—whether in textbooks or in the minds of people who enjoy learning about history. 

After all, history is the study of change over time. And we are always changing, individually and as a whole.