--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should draw on our story, we should…" description: "\"We should draw on our story, we should draw on our history. If we don't know who we are, if we don't know how we became what we are, we're going to sta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/david-mccullough-1091_amnesia_we-should-draw-on-our-story-we-should-dr_1519409.png" --- # We should draw on our story, we should draw on our… ![“We should draw on our story, we should draw on our history. If we don't know who we are, if we don't know how we became what we are, we're going to start suffering from all the obvious detrimental effects of amnesia.” quote by David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/david-mccullough-1091_amnesia_we-should-draw-on-our-story-we-should-dr_1519409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/david-mccullough-1091_amnesia_we-should-draw-on-our-story-we-should-dr_1519409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/david-mccullough-1091_amnesia_we-should-draw-on-our-story-we-should-dr_1519409.png) > “We should draw on our story, we should draw on our history. If we don't know who we are, if we don't know how we became what we are, we're going to start suffering from all the obvious detrimental effects of amnesia.” [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He stresses the importance of understanding personal and collective history to avoid societal amnesia and its harms. **In simple terms:** Knowing our past prevents cultural forgetfulness. Key Takeaway Study history to inform identity and decisions. Themes history identity memory education culture Mood thoughtful inspirational Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - curriculum design - public history projects - community storytelling - policy making Key Concepts collective memory historical consciousness social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What parts of history shape you? - How can societies remember without stagnating? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on past can hinder progress if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amnesia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesia/) [Detrimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detrimental/) [Draw History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw-history-2350752/) [Draw Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw-story-3587822/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Effects Amnesia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects-amnesia-5612403/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Know how](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-how/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Start Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-suffering-3919217/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Who we are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-we-are/) ## Related quotes > [Part of an actor's job is to draw up a back story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/part-of-an-actor-s-job-is-to-draw-up-a-back-story/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [“This chapter briefly analyzes five lessons that many antifascists draw, or, I believe, should draw from history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bray/this-chapter-briefly-analyzes-five-lessons-that-many-antifascists/) [Mark Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bray/) > [I think we start suffering as soon as we come out of the womb. I think that people tend to stereotype. When they think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-williams/i-think-we-start-suffering-as-soon-as-we-come-out-of-the-womb-i-think/) [Lucinda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-williams/) > [A nation that forgets its past can function no better than an individual with amnesia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/a-nation-that-forgets-its-past-can-function-no-better-than-an/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [I feel really lucky to be in a band where the guys, for all the opportunities to do things that potentially would be good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-shinoda/i-feel-really-lucky-to-be-in-a-band-where-the-guys-for-all-the/) [Mike Shinoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-shinoda/) > [Man demands truth and fulfills this demand in moral intercourse with other men; this is the basis of all social life. One anticipates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-demands-truth-and-fulfills-this-demand-in-moral-intercourse-with/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The wrong approaches to faith and to skepticism are equally detrimental to the path. For the former declares its answers too soon and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-wrong-approaches-to-faith-and-to-skepticism-are-equally/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [What's that show? 'TMZ'? They stand there and say, 'I've got this on this person.' The focus on celebrities can be detrimental because people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-leon-talley/what-s-that-show-tmz-they-stand-there-and-say-i-ve-got-this-on-this/) [Andre Leon Talley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-leon-talley/) > [I think that the FIDE leaders have to reconsider the current drawing rules - their advantages aren't very clear, but their shortcomings are obvious.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-tal/i-think-that-the-fide-leaders-have-to-reconsider-the-current-drawing/) [Mikhail Tal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-tal/) > [When the snakes out in that field begin to realize that if one of their members get out of line, it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/when-the-snakes-out-in-that-field-begin-to-realize-that-if-one-of/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“We advocate the atheistic philosophy because it is the only clear, consistent position which seems possible to us. As atheists, we simply deny the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-haldeman-julius/we-advocate-the-atheistic-philosophy-because-it-is-the-only-clear/) [E. Haldeman-Julius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-haldeman-julius/) > [I think a lot of the writing, you know, I write is just kind of like that where, you know. I write exactly how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-camp/i-think-a-lot-of-the-writing-you-know-i-write-is-just-kind-of-like/) [Jeremy Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-camp/) > [I've run into women who can be highly problematic, detrimental, and mean, just like I've seen that in men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-wolfe-herd/i-ve-run-into-women-who-can-be-highly-problematic-detrimental-and/) [Whitney Wolfe Herd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-wolfe-herd/) > [We also have no incentive compensation of any kind. And the reason we don’t is because it is detrimental to teamwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-also-have-no-incentive-compensation-of-any-kind-and-the-reason-we/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) ## More by David McCullough > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Steamboats by this time were becoming a familiar presence on the rivers and coastal waters of America, but not until 1838 did steam-powered ships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/steamboats-by-this-time-were-becoming-a-familiar-presence-on-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [I feel that history is in many ways the most important of all subjects because it is about everything and because it's about who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-feel-that-history-is-in-many-ways-the-most-important-of-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Even mighty states and kingdoms are not exempted. If we look into history, we shall find some nations rising from contemptible beginnings and spreading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/even-mighty-states-and-kingdoms-are-not-exempted-if-we-look-into/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [History isn't just what happened, but what happened to whom and why and what would have been different if the cast of characters had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/history-isn-t-just-what-happened-but-what-happened-to-whom-and-why/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Nobody ever lived in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nobody-ever-lived-in-the-past/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Only TR openly declared his love for the job. “Nobody ever enjoyed the presidency as I did,” he boasted, and by all evidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/only-tr-openly-declared-his-love-for-the-job-nobody-ever-enjoyed-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“s ships Phoenix and Rose, in the company of three tenders, cast off their moorings at Staten Island and started up the harbor under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/s-ships-phoenix-and-rose-in-the-company-of-three-tenders-cast-off/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“a people may let a King fall, yet still remain a people, but if a King let his people slip from him, he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/a-people-may-let-a-king-fall-yet-still-remain-a-people-but-if-a-king/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Why limit yourself to the experience of your own relatively brief time on earth, according to your biological clock, when the whole realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/why-limit-yourself-to-the-experience-of-your-own-relatively-brief/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“He worked at a plain, tall desk at which he wrote standing up or perched on a high stool,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/he-worked-at-a-plain-tall-desk-at-which-he-wrote-standing-up-or/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Nothing happens in isolation. Everything that happens has consequences. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nothing-happens-in-isolation-everything-that-happens-has-consequences/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [America faces an enemy who believes in enforced ignorance. And all that we stand for is the open mind, the generous spirit, the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/america-faces-an-enemy-who-believes-in-enforced-ignorance-and-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read. If I can make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/my-shorthand-answer-is-that-i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-book-that-i/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Seen under the microscope, Stegomyia is a creature of striking beauty. Its general color is dark gray, but the thorax is marked with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/seen-under-the-microscope-stegomyia-is-a-creature-of-striking-beauty/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) [Explore all 291 David McCullough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## More Amnesia quotes > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“I never thought I'd get a second chance at a first time with you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-andrews/i-never-thought-i-d-get-a-second-chance-at-a-first-time-with-you/) [Amy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-andrews/) > [“It’s a cool morning, raining out, and you’re a thirty-eight-year-old woman who can’t remember a thing about her life. A strange amnesia, one you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-nicholson/it-s-a-cool-morning-raining-out-and-you-re-a-thirty-eight-year-old/) [Hope Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-nicholson/) > [“The Bible is clear: amnesia produces apostasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ralph-davis/the-bible-is-clear-amnesia-produces-apostasy/) [Dale Ralph Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ralph-davis/) > [I Wish I Can Have Amnesia When It Comes To Some Of My Ex's I've Been With](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-payne/i-wish-i-can-have-amnesia-when-it-comes-to-some-of-my-ex-s-i-ve-been/) [Thomas Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-payne/) > [It would never occur to me to map my research against events in my life, and the recent history of globalization seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keller-easterling/it-would-never-occur-to-me-to-map-my-research-against-events-in-my/) [Keller Easterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keller-easterling/) > [“Details can change or go missing entirely, particularly in moments of physical peril. A kind of amnesia goes hand in hand with sickness, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/details-can-change-or-go-missing-entirely-particularly-in-moments-of/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [& everytime I see her I sees ya, got you runnin' through my mind , jog my memories amnesia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/everytime-i-see-her-i-sees-ya-got-you-runnin-through-my-mind-jog-my/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Sometimes people who want to understand Haiti from a political perspective may be missing part of the picture. They also need to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/sometimes-people-who-want-to-understand-haiti-from-a-political/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. 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I can't take you through most of the holes of winning the Players Championship, the U.S. Amateur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-kuchar/i-m-helpless-in-post-round-hole-by-hole-interviews-i-can-t-take-you/) [Matt Kuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-kuchar/) [Browse all 248 Amnesia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should draw on our story, we should draw on our history. 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