The failure to recognize history would be the downfall of human existence. We human are hardwired to self-destruct, as James Hetfield said.
We think it is easy to rewrite our memories through denial and ignorance. What we do and what we are doing about it will determine what we will do.
It is a lot easier to revert to our primal selves and throw away the progress we made as civilized society. we will only fool ourselves if we do that.
What happened in days of the past should guide us in the days to come.