The importance of knowing DC's history

I've been following H-DC (H-Net Network on History of the District of Columbia) for some time now and am absolutely fascinated with the information curated and shared on this list.   Matthew Gilmore is editor of the list that shares all manner of DC history information, research requests, and media stories.   You can subscribe to the H-DC list.

This 3-minute interview by Examiner reporter Naomi Jagoda has Gilmore talking about the upcoming D.C. Historical Studies Conference.   In response to the question "Why is it so important to learn about D.C. history?", Gilmore responded

People who have been here a long time can contribute to the understanding of how we got where we are and where we may be going. There's always discussion about historic preservation and urban renewal and development of the city, so if you don't have an appreciation of how we got where we are, it can be difficult to understand what you want to save and how you want to save it.