The quote below is from the documentary A Great And Mighty Walk on the life of legendary scholar and teacher Dr. John Henrik Clarke.
History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of of human geography. History tells a people where they are and what they are. Most important history tells a people where they still must go and what they still must be. The relationship of a history to a people is the same as a mother to a child.