This is an age-old an billion dollar question that plagues all students and teachers of history. I will try to elaborate and give an answer.

First and foremost, history doesn't serve any purpose in a strict sense. Knowledge of historical facts (to various extents) doens't stop or start events, at least to my perception of social processes. One of the most common sentences over the "sense of history" regards its potential teachings, summed by the latin phrase "historia magistra vitae", "history teaches how to live". I do not reckon myself to able to answer if history can be a teacher for the current events.
However, something I am sure of is the set of abilities that historical studies and history overall can provide to its studends, chief among these are the research of sources, the analysis of sources, and the "historical sense" which I'll try and explain in detail.

Research of source material for the confimation or confutation of an idea or fact sounds rather simple, even childish perhaps. But it's one of the most powerful tools a person can wield to be able to comprehend events, especially current ones, if one doesn't make history his job and thus dedicate to past events which benefit the same approaches but deals with severe lack of data. This, paired with the analysis of the origin of the informations received, allows for a critical observation of phenomena, which grants and individual the chance to make decisions with conscience and knowledge.
As an example, all too modern and fitting, in order to decide a candidate to vote, or even to understand the morning news, having the habit of double checking informations on multiple platoforms, being accustomed to the type of platform providing said source (in an era plagued by misinformation at all levels), can change a person's perspective dramatically.
Moreover, the "history sense" or "sense of history" can be described to the capacity to perceive what events can be defined as "historical" and which circumstances could have influenced said events, caused them to come into existance and how said circumstances did interact previously, and in the current occasion, if at all.

Another thing which the study of history can offer is perhaps the single certainty of this subject: everything is bound to change, nothing is immutable, no political structure, no social factor and no human interaction has endured in the same form, deprived of changes, for all of its existence. Although we are bordering questions more proper of philosophy, I wish to remark this point. Nothing stays the same forever; some of the most cynical scholars among my teachers have presented the hypothesis that this basic rule is quite distasteful to those ruling political entities which are not familiar with the matter, and thus shun its very concept. But, alas, this is something that you yourself will have to decide on.

As for the simple action of learning and remembering facts, dates, names and places, I think it is a fruitless endeavor if left unaccompanied by the set of methdos and prerogatives I have explained in the above paragraphs: much like learning a new writing system without studying the language itself.

I hope this answer cleared your mind, even if by a little.