Remember the past, it will help your future

"Those who can not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
-- George Santayana

The truth to this quote is quite evident since in history, time and time again have events been known to repeat themselves. A great example of this is war because of land disputes and disagreement of ideals. This could include native's fighting for their land or free Greeks vs Persian slaves.
This can be translated to modern examples such as Bush invading Iraq. Some say he wanted oil, and others say he doesn't like the way they act; a culture disagreement. Either way, in the past this has been known to cause a negative impact on the world. It is part of being an American to have a reputation of believing that they're better than every other nation on the world however, that can make them seem like an adolescent. Clearly if they look at their past and realize what their forefathers had done to create a free country, continuing to fight seems a little counter productive and only makes people more angry.
Really, respecting the outcomes of events of the past can make a large impact on the future. Problems that still exist such as in a school environment, outdated teaching styles and VHS tapes in class are always complained about. The complaining could be expelled if the school had looked at the past and realised that students have always been complaining about something. That would mean a more up to date school with happier students and that results in a more efficient learning system. So all in all, let's not forget what the world has already seen when we try to be something in the future.