43. Examining history makes us better people insofar as it helps us to understand our 3 L. Y$ E# a4 l) l
world. It would seem, therefore, that history would also provide useful clues for dealing 6 A5 K0 q: f; ^: u4 o
with the same social ills that have plagued societies throughput history. On balance, + P0 n/ m7 q4 \
however, the evidence suggests otherwise.
, O- W4 Z1 A4 v$ M" L Admittedly, history has helped us learn the appropriateness of addressing certain % ]0 N4 U6 Q6 L, f9 @1 B
issues, particularly moral ones, on a societal level. Attempts to legislate morality
( q! {6 q/ Y F) _$ i5 M4 \& o7 P+ S& winvariably fail, as illustrated by Prohibition in the 1930s and, more recently, failed 5 D' Z( J- C6 i: n0 p" g3 B' W
federal legislation to regulate access to adult material via the Internet. We are slowly ; c& `4 r( m! r3 e
learning this lesson, as the recent trend toward legalization of marijuana for medicinal / s/ G( n) L& t1 |0 f$ J
purposes and the recognition of equal rights for same-sex partners both demonstrate.5 h2 b6 d" ~8 T' s) o# l1 y
However, the overriding lesson from history about social ills is that they are here # b- X# `, Y$ r$ L4 X
to stay. Crime and violence, for example, have troubled almost every society. All - j) ~8 I8 C2 g! \3 C
manner of reform, prevention, and punishment have been tried. Today, the trend appears
2 w# }6 w/ n- A. Nto be away from reform toward a "tough-on-crime" approach. Is this because history
7 l; O5 T3 @# D1 Emakes clear that punishment is the most effective means of eliminating crime? No;
7 Z0 e9 B* c& K- H1 srather, the trend merely reflects current mores, attitudes, and political climate. Also ) S& R \" t& }# v6 t/ G, j
undermining the assertion that history helps us to solve social problems is the fact that,
/ K3 b4 Q6 Q. Q8 o" qdespite the civil-rights efforts of Martin Luther King and his progenies, the cultural gap
- c) z9 Y( X% [0 p/ t% ktoday between African-Americans and white Americans seems to be widening. It seems
N4 x s% i" }2 x$ G! Rthat racial prejudice is here to stay. A third example involves how we deal with the C$ ?- [# `/ H( ]
mentally ill segment of the population. History reveals that neither quarantine, nor 9 R4 ~" G A* |# a0 l
treatment or accommodation solves the problem, only that each approach comes with its + T* z* b6 i+ M v
own tradeoffs.8 g6 c) l$ g& F3 Y+ N
To sum up, while history can teach us lessons about our social problems, more
! u3 @: D5 `4 @1 v3 f! z1 aoften than not the lesson is that there are no solutions to many social problems—only 3 z, U' l0 I0 W& R- A
alternate ways of coping with them. |