“The Trap of the Ages”

People always seem to think they’re smarter than the people that came before them. Smarter perhaps isn’t the best word- they think they’re better than all those before them. As if the lessons learned by generations prior don’t apply to them. There are plenty of excuses and half assed reasons given to how today’s situations and scenarios are different than anything before.

Just watch CNN and listen to their analysis of the news. Whether they do it to make their programming more entertaining, or if they genuinely believe what they say- they’ll always be clear how this latest development brings us to uncharted waters. Many people are all too happy to share their dollar store wisdom and tell you that we need to learn from history’s mistakes otherwise we’re condemned to repeat them. To actually practice this though, you must submit to the fact that we aren’t that special! Afterall, the last people who made the mistake thought their situation was unique too.

“Oh how stupid we once were! Thank goodness we know better now!” In the olden days the fortunate sons grew up to be kings. Summer wars were fought in barbaric ways, for barbaric reasons. Look at the propaganda from the World Wars- how could people have been so gullible?

Have we really progressed that much though? What makes us so special? Is any conversation about Iraq complete without the use of a whole list of buzz words from the White House? Shock and awe, cut and run, stay the course, weapons of mass destruction. The war mentioned first in the evening newscast changes every month. One month they talked about Afghanistan, the next Iraq, the next Sudan, and now Israel. At least once there was a time when you knew when you were at war, and when you were at peace (or is that just another fantasy?).

We still live in a world where the rich have power over the poor. Our Presidents come from Yale and Harvard- are millionaire oil tycoons, actors, or heirs. Concepts of serfdom, slavery, and indentured servitude are presented by the textbook writers as unfortunate footnotes. Young children hear how we abolished slavery, integrated schools, gave women the right to vote and go to school, gave Native Americans reservations…. Every problem in American history is taught alongside the solution that “fixed” it. People grow up and are taught how to feel good though state approved curriculum. Few realize there is still poverty and discrimination in America. They think we’re better than that now, we’ve learned our lesson.

Ask any high school student in a middle or upper class community- or any citizen what the number one cause of death for black men under 35 is, and they probably won’t guess homicide. They probably won’t be able to tell you that forty-four million Americans don’t have health insurance, that three million of us are behind bars, and five million are drug addicts. If you asked them how many of our children are living in poverty they probably won’t know that it’s one in five. They go through life content with thinking that disgraceful civil rights abuses are just a distant and shameful part of our past. That we know better now. Do we? There are five hundred prisoners in Guantanamo Bay being held without trial. Arabs in an Iraqi prison were hooded, electrocuted, attacked by dogs, raped, and murdered by United States soldiers. Hate crimes against homosexuals and Arabs happen so frequently in this country they don’t even make the national news. How often is this brought up in discussion? How often is it mentioned in classrooms? Many people live thinking our society has advanced past that. How better are we really? Are we ignorant of the past, or do we choose to ignore it?

We should never be content, or fooled into thinking things are different now when they aren’t. That thinking is the trap of the ages. It is a cheap and easy way to avoid working for real progress.