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Why do we glorify horrible people from the distant past? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Julius Ceasar, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and many more...

These people had beliefs and worldviews that were so horribly, by today's standards, that calling them fascist would be huge understatement. And they followed through by committing a lot of evil.

Aren't we basically glorifying the Hitlers of centuries past?

I know, historians always say that one should not judge historical figures by contemporary moral standards. But there's a difference between objectively studying history and actually glorifying these figures.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Conversely why do we act horrified that someone in the past didn't act according to standards that only exist today and pressures that don't.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

We are horrified by our ancestors actions because we're different than them, we don't understand them. We have the benefit of hindsight and can see the results of their actions. We put ourselves into their world and view it with our standards of today, because we don't want to think we could do the same now that we know better. I can be horrified by the actions of someone in the past but also know that the further back into the pastI look the less I understand of history people.