The Lessons of History

A note on writing vs reading

The writer and the reader form a bond based on trust and form a mind-link, somehow based on consecutive arrangement of words in each line. In non-fiction the writer is obligated to not deceive or gas-light the reader. In fiction, trust still prevails in the presentation of an imaginary story which must be believable in some manner, even with the reader assuming a temporary suspension of belief - it must form a readable story, not just rambling thoughts.

Economy

People often talk about “the economy” as if it is a living entity “out there” somewhere, operating according principles only understood by economists. Actually, “the economy” is the sum total of human trade, spending and investment.

History

Likewise, history is not some mysterious entity outside of human endeavor, which somehow, if we don’t watch out, might repeat itself. History is the total roll-up of human sociology over time as delineated by people, class, culture and aspiration achieved or denied. It often reveals the good of humanity personally or collectively, but more often, the parts we wish we could walk away from - the oppression, the war, the genocide, the criminality - the tale of evil walking the Earth. Thus the frequent attempts to rewrite history, to smooth over, to hide, to look away, from often the depths of depravity. Thus it is not this amorphous entity of History supposedly hiding behind the veil which “repeats” itself, but rather it is the same perturbations of the human mind, singularly or collectively, which repeat the same crimes over and over. This is the lesson we can learn from history - to look at it as a mirror showing us our true selves, and how we can create better outcomes from studying and learning from history - learning how our own thoughts can cause so much grief if we don’t fully consider the consequences. Which reminds me of two previous items from earlier this year: February - “History doesn’t repeat itself - people do”; and March: “Most of history lies unread, while the unread lie about history.”

“Do you realize that the past, starting from yesterday, has been actually abolished? If it survives anywhere, it’s in a few solid objects with no words attached to them, like that lump of glass there. Already we know almost literally nothing about the Revolution and the years before the Revolution. Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right. I know, of course, that the past is falsified, but it would never be possible for me to prove it, even when I did the falsification myself. After the thing is done, no evidence ever remains.” ― George Orwell, 1984