An apology offered and, equally important, received is a step towards reconciliation and, sometimes, recompense. Without that process, hurts can rankle and fester and erupt into their own hatreds and wrongdoings.
Margaret MacmillanRead
If you read about millions of people doing this and millions of people doing that, history seems remote and inaccessible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the disconnect individuals may feel when viewing history as a collection of distant events rather than relatable experiences.
Margaret Macmillan's quote highlights how the vastness of history, filled with accounts of millions of people, can create a perception of it being remote and hard to connect with. It suggests that history is not just a series of events but a shared human experience that is accessible and relevant to our lives, encouraging us to find personal connections within historical narratives.
Themes
HistoryConnectionRelevanceHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of studying history and its relevance to today's world.
More from Margaret Macmillan
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War is a crucial, deeply ingrained part of human history. It has to be understood.
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There was that argument that if we had more women in positions of authority, the world would be a nicer place. And then we got Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Indira Gandhi. When women become acclimatised to war, they can become every bit as ruthless as men.
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Theodore Roosevelt's policy to build a two-ocean navy confirmed that the old-style isolationism of the founders had not survived the modern, increasingly globalized world.
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If we don't take responsibility for each other, it seems to me the future is going to be even bleaker.
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