Historical awareness is important not only for the leaders, but for the citizenry as a whole if they are to choose intelligently in a democracy. The point is not simply to condition them to loyalty, as a dictatorship must; history should show, in fact, that the foundations of real loyalty and commitment rest not on indoctrination, but go deep down in the whole network of social life. What history can give citizens of a democracy is a realistic perspective on the nature of their society, its problems, and the direction it is headed in. It can teach patience for the short run, by showing that quick and complete solutions to national problems are unlikely, and it can prepare people to accept change in the long run, by showing that no way of life and no balance of political forces can ever stand still for long. Above all, history can inoculate the citizen against gullibility, against unthinking belief in the leader who promises either quick change of no change at all.
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