Sharing memories with each other is a uniquely human thing to do. Without a shared past, it’s more difficult to chart a shared future.
We accomplish this by being honest with each other — and with ourselves.
“Herodotus thought of historians as the guardians of memory, the memory of glorious deeds. I prefer to see historians as the guardians of the skeletons in the cupboard of the social memory... There used to be an official called the ‘Remembrancer.’ The title was actually a euphemism for debt collector. The official’s job was to remind people of what they would have liked to forget. One of the most important functions of the historian is to be a remembrancer.” — Peter Burke, 1997
