September 22, 2024

Doomed to Repeat History?

I just read an interesting article by David Corn titled "Memory Hole" that speaks of the role that amnesia plays in our individual and especially our corporate lives.

It has only been four years since the beginning of COVID. Yet many Americans have forgotten how horrible 2020 really was before vaccines. We have forgotten how truly disturbing January 6 of 2021 was. George Dehner says: "Humans are really good at compartmentalizing things in the past, and Americans appear to be especially good at that. That's a nicer way of saying we don't keep track of history very well." Amnesia helps us soften the blow of trauma, and thus serves us well sometimes. But it also serves to not prepare us for the future. Our forgetfulness means we might be doomed to repeat the past or not  be prepared for what the future will bring. Note how some people recall the very traumatic year of 2020 simply as a time (short time) when gas was cheap.