Yates 20-Prudence and Memory

"Prudence is the knowledge of what is good, what is bad and what is neither good nor bad. Its parts are memory, intelligence, foresight (memoria, intelligentia, providentia). Memory is the faculty by which it ascertains what is. Foresight is the faculty by which it is seen that something is going to occur before it occurs" (Yates 20).
 
     According to Yates, we must use our memories to make decisions. Could this explain why all teenage boys are wearing their pants around their knees? They have not had to use their memories enough to know they will look foolish and they risk losing their pants all together as they walk down the street? Have they forgotten that the entire point of pants is to cover the part they are allowing to hang out? Is it their lack of memory that makes them unable to imagine how much easier it could be for them to wear their clothes properly? Okay, so maybe I'm just old and I don't "get it". On to better examples.....

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    Maybe fashion overcomes memory and prudence, but what about other situations?  In high school my history teacher pointed out that if I did not learn more of history that I would be DOOMED to repeat it. He said this with all the zeal and passion he could muster (not much really, but at least he was persistent). How could I be doomed to repeat things I had never done before? I don't remember starting a world war, losing a battle or winning one for that matter, being an inventor who changed the world etc. Now that I am a lot older and a little wiser I see the value in memorizing history. When we learn history, memorizing all those pesky dates and facts, we get a new picture of the world around us. We know where some of our tough issues come from and we have foresight into the direction we are heading. Don't believe me? Read on...

     I wondered why my parents, especially my mother, did not have prejudices against Asians like many her age. She remembers the bombing of Pearl Harbor, young men not coming home, the injuries and scars that World War II left on the nation. Recently I read Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet which tells a story of a family who was sent to an internment camp. After telling Mom about the book, she told me a story I had never heard before. Mom was thirteen when the US government ordered the internment of Japanese Americans, and she lived near one. It turns out that there was an internment camp in Livingston near where her family lived. She used to go talk and play with the children there (I would be willing to bet her father did not know). Mom did not see these people as the "bad guys". The knowledge from playing with these kids and since many of them stayed after being released, growing up with them, gave her an insight not everyone was able to have. She was not prejudice, if anything she sounded fascinated. This is truly part of her curious nature.
     From my Mother's story, I was able to learn not just about her, but more about the attitudes of the time from someone who was actually there. It brought history home and made it real for me. This is why it is important to learn history. Her story, when passed on, can teach many lessons that are relevant today. For example, our government is not always right, freedom is precious and can be taken more easily than it is given, we should get to know the "enemy" before we judge them, etc. Do you see? This story, when memorized and passed down can teach us to act with prudence. (See how I got us back to Yates-you were wondering if I could weren't you?). This is only one story of one girl. Memorizing the facts and the outcomes from the history texts is really not enough though. We must pass these personal accounts down to the next generation so they too can make good decisions. Besides, I am not sure what History text books are like now , but the one I fell asleep to Senior year did not note any mistakes that may have been made by the US government or its allies. I think even the implication would have been cause for expulsion.
     My summer project goal is to collect stories from my parents about their lives and compile them. I am sure I can learn  a lot, and I can pass them on to my daughter. I think Yates would approve.