Been there!!
Hello Mary Anne,
You said, with conviction:
>"Which is where I came in: to examine where we've been is to have a better idea where we want to go."
This is a very positive and optimistic outlook on the study of history. Contrast it to Friedrich Hegel's view that the "chief thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history."
If we examine where we have been, ponder that on this day in 1933 Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party won the greatest number of seats, but not the majority vote, in the German elections.
Does it give us a better idea of where we are going viewed with our own election experience? Hmmm!