An Understanding of the Past is Necessary for Solving the Problems of the Present. (Essay Sample)

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An Understanding of the Past is Necessary for Solving the Problems of the Present.
There is a lot of information from past life experiences, which can offer solutions to problems that affect individuals in their present lives. Yesteryear encounters can be handy examples of consequences that people may face when they do things that create regrets rather than pride. “An understanding of the past is necessary for solving the problems of the present.” This means that both the negative and positive encounters in life should not be taken as normal occurrences. The experiences can act as integral tools for solving the challenges that may face the individuals in their future times. The statement also implies that no events in life deserve to be ignored because everything happens with reasons (Wolfinger 137).
The Republic of Kenya had never engaged in any form of civil or political war. Her people only knew about peace in all the years that preceded 2007. History was written immediately after the general elections that were conducted in the year 2007, which saw the citizens of the country slaughter each other. The international community had indicated that tension was building up in that country, and called for the implementation of extra security mechanisms for containing any form of violence. The country’s political class took the issue lightly. The incumbent president and his political nemesis had not experienced any serious violence in their careers as politicians. Security concerns were not any news to them, and they were ready to use violence for their personal gains. Some members of the contestants’ camps were reported to have plans for causing chaos when the election results failed to favor their side. The country plunged into a sea of violence after the declaration of the results, which saw the incumbent president retain his office. More than one thousand and three hundred lives were lost, while another six hundred thousand people were left homeless (Lafargue 219).
The subsequent elections that took place in Kenya on 4th March of the year 2013 were marked by peace. Kenyans had vowed that they would never let history of the dark 2007 elections repeat itself. The memories of the events that occurred during the violence after the disputed elections in the year 2007 kept on reminding them of the losses that they incurred at that time. They were not ready to confront the same problems because the experiences were the worst in their history lives. This made them reach a wise decision of participating peacefully in the elections, and accepting the results that may come their way. The suspected financiers of the year 2007 elections violence also had bad experiences with the international community. This acted as an example to other people, and also made them not to culminate in decisions of sponsoring violence again (International Crisis Group 46).
Several thoughts arise from the idea that prior life experiences can help in finding solutions to the ongoing challenges. Earlier encounters are effective tools for shaping up people’s present conducts. They make individuals ponder the actions that they intend to take. This involves weighing both the positive and negative outcomes of their decisions. They will then end up abandonin...