“Live both in the future and in the past. Who does not live in the past does not live in the future” Acton.
The quote above with all certainty assures us all that if we do not study and understand the past, we will not understand what is happening in the present and future.
Everything is part of a long-term process much like a stone dropping into an ocean that creates a ripple that can become a tidal wave.
Humanity reacts to events that have web-like influences upon other events. Ever hear of the saying “no man is an island” or think about the mechanics of the domino effect falling upon itself?
Here is another saying of significance…History is circular in process and nature. History repeats itself constantly but you have to develop the ability to recognise the repeating process.
WW1 evolved into WW2. Without WW1’s effect upon world history and the global population WW2 would probably not have happened. Dictators come and go; wars seem to never end. The horrors of conflict never cease, but claw their influences into the psyche of humanity. Only time can slow or even stop these influences.
Something catastrophic that happened hundreds of years ago can still influence the social conscience of a person, family or nation. Why are Russians forever on the defensive spiritually, politically and socially? If you studied Russian politics, history and culture you would have realised that Russians are the most guarded people on the planet.
Hundreds of conflicts have over the centuries placed Russians in a self-protective state, protecting them from the stranger, the invader and potential opponent. History did that, forming a social psychological pattern in their thoughts and actions.
Why did Putin invade Ukraine and why did the Russian people support the invasion? Every Russian sees outsiders as potential enemies, even the former colony of Ukraine.
Once a mighty empire of United Soviets, Russia has become a collection of warring tribes vying for the control of the others’ natural resources. Pride and Prejudice motivated such an invasion.
History in America is also circular. The American Civil War unleashed a tidal wave of prejudice, hatred and violence as never seen before in America. Race, social distinctions, capitalism and empire building initiated mass deaths and social disruptions whose influences are with us today.
Presidential Dictators like Lincoln and Jefferson Davis at war with each other tore the fabric of society apart, unleashing millions of Blacks from slavery into another unacceptable historic state.
Jim Crow, racial oppression, inequality, racial democracy presented as an ideal to America had not been challenged until pre-WW2 periods. What the Black population went through had happened previously on other continents.
The European Feudal System placed the majority of the population into a rigid set of socially and religiously accepted rules dividing the population by social, racial and religious factors.
Today America is experiencing similar historic actions against its own citizens based upon colour, creed, financial status and religion.
Most Hispanics threatened with deportation are Roman Catholics. Haitians, Africans and other Brown skinned invaders face politically authorised oppression by a predominant Caucasian Christian Administration.
The police, I.C.E. agents and the military have been called to arms against normal family members, many who have paid their taxes to the authorities for decades. They are swept up and disappear without notice.
Why has The Trump Administration attacked the social roots of America? What ever happened to the declaration made long ago to the world stating “give me your tired, your poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free”?
Not too long ago another group of revolutionaries took Germany away from the old social hierarchy to replace it with their version of strong-willed dictatorship.
Adolf Hitler made deals with other dictators such as Stalin. Adolf Hitler initiated a murderous program to rid Germany and Europe of the dreaded Jew, gypsies, handicapped, socialists, outcasts and opponents. Done in the name of a Greater Germany, where waste, costs and tariffs were considered more important than some peoples’ lives. Sound familiar folks?
We are in a historic cycle flowing towards who knows where. Certainly, there will be war, genocide, prejudice and inequality, as all these prosper under an authoritarian state.
The greatest of victims can only be democracy itself. Did you know that the odds are against any nation who was once a democracy but fell to tyranny?
Eminem sang, “if you had one shot, one opportunity to seize whatever you wanted in one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip”? Well? Is Democracy important to you, your family and community? Will you stand up for the little guy, perhaps fight the man in disguise (police/agents/military)?
Protest, march or lift your fist in righteous anger towards those with guns, pepper spray and undemocratic views? You can make history too.
“Loving a baby is a circular business, a kind of feedback loop. The more you give the more you get and the more you get the more you feel like giving” P. Leach
“We are not makers of history; we are made by history” M.L King
Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario