Relationships
History is for losers?
What you need to know and what you don't need to know about basic history
by Timothy Winters
So this fellow of mine comes up to me and asks me, "So, why are most Cubans Republicans while most other Hispanics are Democrat?" It turns out that my friend, who we shall call Robert D. Berkowitz, or Bobby for short, is eager to brush up on his history so that he can have a decent conversation with a cutey he's just encountered... a Cuban cutey.
Don't worry, this is just one example of MILLIONS. There are tons and tons of situations where the basic knowledge of geography, history and politics, domestic and foreign, are important to know. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't expect you to impress some girl or guy by knowing that the fifteenth president of the Union was a man named Buchanon. That's boring and rather useless. We're not here to impress people.
The reason you should know about basic history is so that when you meet other people or are at a gathering with friends, colleagues...whatever the relation, you don't come out looking like a fool because you didn't know that conservatives lean right, for example. It's to feign some intelligence, or at least to avoid looking utterly ignorant (even if you are).
Now, now, I know you may think this stuff is for losers, or that it has no place in your life. But you are wrong. Every person you meet falls into some category, has some kind of history or sense of culture, no matter how much it seems that they do not. A knowledge of the fundamentals is important when trying to develop healthy relations with people of different backgrounds. This doesn't just apply to a potential girlfriend, boyfriend, or best friend. This applies to colleagues and business partners, clients and bosses, and even the casual stranger you have a chat with at a ball game or in a college hallway. Further, a lot of the world is interrelated (British vs. Chinese currency, European investments affecting American stock, sports, etc).
There are only some key things you should know, not much. You should know some basic geography: Africa is a continent, not a country, for example, and you should be able to locate it on a map. Take five minutes to find Egypt, Iraq, Greece, and Saudi Arabia. Never call a Japanese person Chinese (or Korean or...u get it). Same goes with Hispanics. Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans...all different (there are about 20 different nationalities among Latin Americans). Know basic politics: liberal versus conservative versus libertarian; democrats versus Republican, and a little of how they came to be. These are examples of common knowledge issues.
Try to know what most people know. Know that before 1860 was pre Civil War, that Germany was largely responsible for both World Wars, and that 1776 was the year of U.S. independence. Know a little about conflicts such as Ireland/ Britain, Pakistan/India, and the Cold War wars (korea, vietnam). Avoid grouping (the wrong) people together ("them talibans," "mexicans," or "chinese"). When in doubt, stay quiet and listen.
What you should definitely know is one particular era or topic really well. Every one has a favorite... WWII, Ancient Rome...whatever tickles your fancy. That way you can use that knowledge as your specialty.The rest of the time just use your overall knowledge so that you are not entirely clueless and blubbering about tasty dinners when someone introduces you to someone from Turkey (that would be bad). The point of all this is to avoid awkward exhibitions of ignorance, and who knows... you just might find someone's background to be more interesting than you think.
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