Lessons from History

"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana

This has been a popular reference in recent political speeches. There's been a lot of comparisons between appeasing Hitler and the Iraq occupation.

I have a few might have beens of my own.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were a series of escalating provocations between countries. World leaders used them to try out their new toys and started WWI. If the tension had been used to create a world organization for arbitration, we might not have had the war.

Germany lost the war so it got the blame. The winning countries were determined to punish Germany as ruthlessly as possible. If a more reasonable settlement had been found, Germany might not have been plunged into economic troubles.

When Germany was in the depths of depression, the rest of the world considered it just punishment. If there had been a change in policy, or some direct aid, Hitler might not have risen to power.

When Germany invaded Poland, world leaders tried appeasement. Hitler might have been stopped. We could have pounded Germany back into the ground. If that had happened, Germany might have been spurred to an even stronger sense of pride and nationalism. Someone worse than Hitler might have been created.

There are many lessons to be learned from history. The tricky part is understanding what the lesson is, and how to apply it to today.

Santayana has another quote that is worth remembering.

"Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim."