Why Won’t People Learn from History?

June 11, 2024

   Why won’t people learn from history? I’d truly like to know because time and time again, humanity continues to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Disturbingly, we can see it blatantly happening once more before our own eyes.
   Why?
   Perhaps some of you are wondering what I’m talking about. Well, let me tell you. History is full of dictators who manipulated, lied, and generally did whatever they thought necessary to get masses of people to support them in their quest for power and dominance. And once in power, they would do everything they could to keep it. Want an example? Here you go.
   Adolf Hitler is one. We look back on him now with obvious disgust at how horrible he was, but many people seem to overlook the fact that he got elected to power in the 1930s. He took advantage of people’s prejudices in addition to German dissatisfaction with things like the reparations required by the Allies after World War I and the economic hardships brought on by the Great Depression to gain support from the masses who then elected him and the Nazi party to power. And what’s even more disturbing is that if you pay attention to what he said in the 1920s and ‘30s, huge alarm bells should have been going off in people’s minds as his hatred of all things Jewish as well as his megalomania were plain for all to see. Yet, millions of Germans happily supported him electing him into power. And despite all the horrible things he did and the ruin he brought to Germany, as late as 1945 when Allied forces were crushing German resistance and overrunning the country from multiple directions, there were still many who thought that Hitler must have some secret weapon or strategy that would turn the tide of the war.
   Now, let’s take a look at what’s been going on in the 21st century here in the United States. Donald Trump is not Adolf Hitler, but there are some very disturbing similarities. He uses authoritarian tactics to try to get what he wants, even when they are clearly undemocratic in nature. We know for a fact the severe degree that Trump lies in order to gain support from people, and we’ve also seen how millions of Americans continue to blindly follow him no matter what he says or does. In some ways, it’s like we’re watching history repeat itself yet again in tragic ways.  Many around this country are promoting book bans, a dangerous trend that was promoted by the Nazis. A lot of Trump’s Republicans are trying to take rights away from LGBTQ people, another example that is reminiscent of the type of things the Nazis would do. The United States has already been through four years of a Trump Administration. We’ve seen how much he deceives, exaggerates, and flat out lies to people for his own personal quest for power, dominance, and adoration. Look at the 2020 election, one that he clearly lost. Yet he continues to this day to spread outrageous lies claiming that he somehow won even though he absolutely lost. And he has tens of millions of Americans believing these lies and actively supporting him no matter what he does. We all saw on national television how Trump instigated the riotous assault on the United States Capitol Building, yet millions of Americans continue to back him. Trump is saying very clearly how he will take revenge on his political opponents if he gets back in office. Another tactic dictators have used for thousands of years. He’s also describing how he plans to get rid of many Federal  Government career civil servants, who have faithfully served under multiple administrations of both parties, in order to replace them with his cronies. Ukraine is a democratic nation fighting for its life against Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of conquest, yet Trump wants to obstruct vital American aid to Ukraine. On top of that, he has repeatedly undermined NATO, an alliance which is vital to keeping authoritarian thugs like Putin in check. Frankly, we’ve seen repeatedly how Trump likes authoritarian leaders. We saw on national television how as President, he believed Putin over US Intelligence. And despite all this, the Republican Party is overwhelmingly supporting Trump’s quest to become president again.
   So yes, history is in the process of repeating itself.
   Why won’t people learn from the past? Why won’t they strive not to repeat the mistakes societies have made throughout history?
   Why?
   I wish I had an answer. The one thing I can say is that for those of us who see the disaster unfolding before us, we must speak up, speak out, make our voices heard, and vote! We must fight for our democratic values and freedoms like we never have before because they are truly in jeopardy now. It’s not too late to defend democracy. But people must take action speaking out and voting in order for this nation to stay free.