“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is a quote from George Santayana‘s book The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress published in 1905. For over a century, Santayana’s words have lingered, across time and cultures, challenging generations to contemplate the past in their present living. This quote is the seed for other similar quotes like, “Those who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.
Regardless of the banter that surrounds these words, the survival of the quote itself (although few know its author), and the value of the lessons that come from learning from the past, the truth is that there has been repeated communal failure in learning from the past. Instead, the lessons cycle through generations, with recognition of past behaviors coming to haunt in the presence of mistakes repeated.
History is the discipline that focuses on the study of past events. Yet, each of our lives carries with it history, a series of events that contribute to our understanding of the world and our place in it. History is the word that captures the events of the past – a time long ago, often calculated as a time before birth, a distant reality not of our making.
Yet, history is created from the events that unfold around us daily. The present reality, the choices we make today, the decisions made by people and governments is the kindling for the history read tomorrow. History is made in the moments of our lives, recorded and recounted over time.
These current days are writing history. What will historians in some future have to say about the decisions being made today? More urgently, there are lessons of the past that are being ignored in the quest for power, wealth and control.
This past week as the United Nations General Assembly gathered in New York City the United States vetoed (for the sixth time) a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would have demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. This sixth veto comes at a time when all other member states of the Security Council voted for the resolution, and mere days after the published report from the UN Human Rights Council finding that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza. One more report from one more global entity affirming the truth that has been reported for many months. The public outcry against the crimes against humanity being committed has been resounding, and yet, support for the perpetuation of this atrocity continues.
History is being repeated. A group of people is being destroyed before us in this moment. The lessons of the past that include genocide committed in other countries are being ignored. What started out as “conflict” has escalated to genocide.
The lessons are everywhere. The dehumanization of people. The displacement of communities. The denial of people’s rights. The promotion of authoritarianism. These are not to be ignored. Instead, if we are to see a different world where justice prevails, this “here” where we are is the place to look for the changes we imagine in this world.
Women. Children. People of color. Ethnic minorities. Transgender people. Sexual minorities. Religious minorities. Migrants. The list of the excluded is long and lengthens daily, with gross finding themselves targeted as not belonging to social norms created in conflict with the belief that all are created in the image of God and should be loved in the fullness of their humanity.
Communities of faith have been rendered complicit in the perpetration of crimes against humanity. The co-opting of religion to justify the killings fields of our day is unjust and ignores the tenet of the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated.
The commandment to love and care for each other is a fundamental principle easily ignored in the stereotyping of others, the weaponizing of differences, and the promotion of racial or ethnic supremacy that suggests one people are of lesser value or importance than another. History has taught us that valuing people and a commitment to human rights is important for the decisions we make today and the history we are writing now.
What will history make of this time we are living through and the decisions being made by people, communities of faith, and governments? History is being made today.
Categories:
On My Mind Today
United Church of Christ News
