Shake yourself free..............................

     Each and every one of us has been born into a given historical reality, ruled by particular norms and values, and managed by a unique economic and political system.  We take this reality for granted, thinking it is natural, inevitable and immutable.  We forget that our world was crated by an accidental chain of events, and that history shaped not only our technology, politics and society, but also our thoughts, fears and dreams.  The cold hand of the past emerges from the graves of our ancestors, grips us by the neck and directs our gaze towards a single future.  We have felt that grip from the moment we were born, so we assume that it is a natural and inescapable part of who we are.  Therefore we seldom try to shake ourselves free, and envision alternative futures.
     Studying history aims to loosen the grip of the past.

-Yuval Noah Harari,  Homo Deus:  A Brief History of Tomorrow