The idea that what happened was not inevitable. Understanding the contingency of the past, I think, may suggest to them that the present and future are similarly “not a done deal”.
In some respects, even the past is not a done deal. It must be examined and studied and will be viewed differently in the present and in the future, thus making history a feedback loop, though hopefully in positive ways.
Omicron Inevitability? 55% say they’ll be infected regardless of precautions; two-in-five would end all restrictions. (2022, January 13). Angus Reid Institute. https://angusreid.org/omicron-covid-19-inevitable-back-to-school/
Grabar, H. (2020, April 17). Nothing About New York’s Outbreak Was Inevitable. Slate Magazine. https://slate.com/business/2020/04/coronavirus-new-york-city-outbreak-blame.html
Ezra Klein on Twitter: “This is a governance failure, not an inevitability of the disease. https://t.co/A083PtNvD3” / Twitter. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved July 1, 2020, from https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1277641430962323456