Opinion Essay

I do not agree with the statement that “We should spend more money on preserving our past – it is too
important to lose. “

In my opinion, past is an imprtant element for a people or a society and it should be preserved as long as
it represents something worthy and it is significant for the future. Spending money for conserving an
unuseful gravestone, cairn, memorial or cenotaph is a completely misuse of time, energy and money. All
those monuments of little significance can be remembered in history books, on the Internet or some
place else, instead of wasting a space where a beautiful garden could cheer people up.

I also believe that the Government could spend money for doing something more practical and beneficial
for the society. For example, I cannot see any purpose in preserving the houses of famous, dead people.
Those houses could be turned into kindergartens, hospitals, schools, groceries and a dozen of other
more worthwhile things.

Of course, there are many people who agree with the mentioned statement. In their point of view,
history has a great importance. I can see why they do that. There are a lot of pieces of history which are
worth to be preserved. But it is inconceivable to spend money on protecting monuments which only a
group of people has heard of.

To sum up, I do not agree that we should spend more money to preserve our past. The past can be
remembered in many ways that do not require money. And it is my belief that the future is more
important. As George Bernard Shaw said, “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by
the responsibility for our future.”