If you could change history... what would you change?

Question

if you could automatically and irrevocably change one fact or facet in the development of human history, what would that change be? Why did you make this choice?

Thank you in advance for all of your input!

Answer 1

I would wipe any and all traces of religion from the annals of history. Religion is responsible for almost every single atrocity that has ever been committed. Religion has killed more people since its inception than old age. More often than not it has stagnated and polluted the evolution of human thought and morality. I realize it professes the opposite however the truth is it has divided humanity more than it ever has united us. Differences in race, ethnicity, and nationality would not have led to nearly as much prejudice and hate if these differences had not also been coupled with disharmony of religious beliefs between these groups. Therefore I would regret not at all my decision to eradicate religion's very existence.

Answer 2

I would change the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty that ended World War I was a travesty on the part of the victorious powers, and attempted to blame Germany for the war that everyone had a hand in starting. The economic devastation of the heavy reparations demanded of Germany caused misery for ordinary Germans, and sowed the seeds for the rise of the Nazi party in the mid-1930's.

I would have drafted the document to be similar to the Marshall plan that rebuilt Europe after WWII, and would respect the national boundaries for each country in Europe at that time. The fact that many countries simply ceased to exist after the war is further evidence that the "peace" treaty was used mainly as a land grab by the Allied Powers.

Answer 3

From a Christian point of view, I would want to erase Adam and Eve's fall, thereby preventing all further calamities resulting in a sinful world. Excluding this option, the single most effective change, I believe, would be to eliminate WWII, the bloodiest war this world has known.

And, from a Christian perspective (which you may ignore if you choose), I would quote a favorite author:
"In the annals of human history, the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as if dependent on the will and prowess of man; the shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, above, behind, and through all the play and counterplay of human interest and power and passions, the agencies of the All-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will." E.G.W Education pg. 173

Eventually, in God's providence, all the wars will cease. Until then, through allowing humans to follow their own plans to a great degree, and only occasionally interferring, He will prove the ultimate result evil in our world. History shows the effects of violence, envy, and care for oneself alone--it hasn't been pretty. Perhaps religion appears to be responsible for a great deal of the suffering, but this is falsely called religion. It should seem obvious that evil would be most effective when hiding under a pretense of good; this has been the case repeatedly in human history. Maybe the best change to history would be to simply make it self-explanitory, with no gray areas for speculation...To know who or what was really responsible for each individual event.

So if I were to change something in history, the above choices would rank first. But perhaps, in reality, changing one fact or facet in the development of human history would not be helpful then or now, because whatever took place was caused by certain factors that would inevitably bring about the same results eventually. In essence, if it didn't happen then, it would happen later. We can only hope to learn from what has happened and avoid it in the future.

Answer 4

If I could go back in time and change something . . . I would have the Supreme Court in the United States rule that Al Gore won the election in 2000. And it is not so much that I am an Al G. fan. But I am sure so much would have been done differently and perhaps diplomacy might have been given a chance. The world is a more dangerous place since September 11, 2001, and the radical Muslims are not totally to blame. The radical cowboys from Texas must share responsibility. Oh my, how the world was duped!

Answer 5

correct as quickly as they replaced to the "we are all going to die" channel. I see the craze as commencing while they found out that the main widespread Hitler shows have been those that made wild accusations approximately psychic powers, or secret societies. at that factor they started constantly squeezing in some minority opinion that sounded cool. you comprehend, like the thought the super Wall of China wasn't geared up to maintain out horse nomads, yet became certainly geared up because of the fact an Emperor had a prophetic dream. This type only have been given further and extra favourite, as they discovered that few people needed respected historians, on a similar time as the fringe theories drew visitors. Now what demographic loves conspiracy theories the main? Compound dwellers and rednecks. Shift finished.

Answer 6

The crew of the Titanic deciding to turn. If they'd hit head on, they would have been well enough off to make it to New York City. I love to read about the Titanic and that one decision causing so much loss of life and property is just devastating.

I agree that George W. Bush's administration is devastating. Maybe under another president 9/11 could have been prevented.

Other worst moments...
-The murder of Archduke Fernidad beginning WWI
-Assassintaions of Lincolin, Kennedy

Answer 7

I would have made sure Trotsky beat out Stalin instead of the other way around. Trotsky was much smarter and a better leader. If he would have gotten rid of Stalin instead of the other way around Russian history might have been less tragic.

Oh and to the woman who complained about the word "history" meaning "his-story." That's a bit of a misnomer. The word history is derived from the latin word histos meaning "narrative or account" and the greek word histor referring to "witness" or "judge." While "history" and "story" have been synonymous in English and it is true that history tells mostly about the lives of men. The etymology of the word is not derived from the words "his" and "story." History typically only tells about the powerful few, which excludes countless men and women of all races and creeds. That's why we have things like archaeology to tell us about the marginalized like african american slaves who generally aren't written about prior to the American civil war.

Answer 8

would changing history also change the present and future. we learn from the mistakes of the past and use them to make plans for the future. i would have liked more people to be aware of the things that Hitler and Stalin were doing in germany and russia, but things like that are so huge, i don't think they could have been stopped

Answer 9

I would cancel all world wars, place upon Europe a unified empire which would later become democratic and delet the existence and birth of nationalism and nation-states.

I would ensure for every group of people a future, even the smallest ones.

Answer 10

To be honest with you, I wouldn't change anything. I know that there have been bad things that have happened in the past, but if they didn't happen the world wouldn't be what it is today. We might not be the same people, heck we might not even be here. No matter how bad or good things have been it all happened, and we learn from the past. If we got rid of something like say World War II, we wouldn't have the lessons that we learned from it. So, to answer your question I wouldn't change a thing. I hope this helps.