Culture is defined as "the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another." Culture is the process of civilization where people strive to bring order to their world within the confines of their belief system.

History, on the other hand, is defined as "a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period or person." By studying history, or the events of the past, we also learn how to interpret the present and what to expect from the future. History teaches us to hope.

Follow up:

We learn that countless times throughout the history of mankind events have become so dire that there seems no chance for hopeful outcomes to prevail...and yet they do. The Cuban Missle Crisis comes quickly to mind. Most importantly though we learn "that ideas have consequences." We learn that societies, when pushed, almost always push back. That is human nature. Nowhere can we see these concepts playing out better than in Afghanistan.

A recent report compiled from field research and 1,500 interviews of men in Afghanistan in October of 2010 by the International Council on Security and Development found that most, in fact 90% of the men interviewed did not know about the events of 9/11. "Because the international community’s political narrative and public justification for its presence in Afghanistan has been very limited, the Taliban and other insurgent groups are able to easily fill this gap with their own propaganda." [IC] This lack of information is believed to be playing  a major role when they decide to join the insurgency. Because the Afghan citizens do not know...have not been allowed to learn the recent history of their country they see western soldiers as invaders who have come to their country for no other reason than to subdue and oppress; to destroy their lifestyle and religious beliefs. Do any of us know for sure that we truly understand what motivates citizens of the Middle East? History is the study of the consequences of men’s ideas. Culture is what those ideas look like, sound like, taste like, and how they manifest themselves in everyday life. It is important that we instill in our children a love of history and culture and an awe for the accomplishments of our ancestors and an understanding of their mistakes. Our civilization, unless we thoroughly educate ourselves and our children in the history of the world, will truly be condemned to repeat the same old mistakes over and over and over again.

Sources:

[IC] Island Crisis: Many Afghans Have Never Heard of 9/11.

[NH1] Navigating History: Why Study History?

[NH2] Navigating History: Why Study Culture?