Doomed to repeat the past

We’ve all heard Santayana’s popular aphorism, variously paraphrased, that those who refuse to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. But is it true?

To take an obvious example, many kids refuse to learn from the mistakes of their parents. And that’s not out of ignorance. Their parents have regaled them on their own youthful indiscretions, in hopes of deterring their kids from repeating the same mistakes.

Liberal academicians assure us that history is written by the winners. But that’s not true. Losers, precisely because they lost, are equally motivated to rewrite history to their advantage. They either recast themselves as the winners or else recast themselves as the victims. The injured party–even if they were the aggressors.

There’s a sense in which historical knowledge can enslave a people. They identify with the plight of their forebears. Historical grudges are handed down from one generation to the next. Who did what to whom.

One can imagine a science fiction story, set in post-apocalyptic future, in which a totalitarian regime forbids the teaching of history. It does so on the grounds that historical knowledge is divisive and dangerous. Historical knowledge perpetuates ancient animosities. Real or imagined wrongs are never forgotten. Never laid to rest.

As a result, the regime has banned historical textbooks. Existing copies are confiscated and destroyed.

But there’s an underground movement of insurgent historians who, in the name of freedom, foment a revolt. They recruit the younger generation. Together, they successfully topple the regime.

But once the new regime begins teaching history, the social fabric starts to unravel as various racial and ethic groups which had been living in a state of peaceful coexistence are suddenly given a long list of reasons to resent and distrust one another.

This leads to street gangs. Urban warfare. Civil war. The cycle repeats itself.

My point is not that we should stop teaching history, although a lot of what passes for history is historical revisionism and pure propaganda.

My point is simply that Santayana’s prescription is naïve. We will not find our salvation in the annals of history. Historical knowledge cannot deliver us from the bondage of sin.

People can become enslaved to the past. Fatal camaraderie with the dead. They keep fighting the last battle. Living in the past–sometimes a past that never existed. Defending the honor of the dead.