History

A meditation on human tendencies

The first war lasted

Four long years,

*

The second went on

For six,

*

And the number of

Smaller fights since then

*

Betray a fault we haven't

Fixed.

*

History teaches, so I

Discern,

*

But mankind simply

Doesn't learn.

Author's Note

Just open the morning paper. I rest my case.

Reviews

[carl]

Very succinct and clear to the point - "when will we ever learn..." - Pete Seeger, enjoyed the read and pathos comes cleanly and clearly. -carl

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Carl. To anyone that thinks, the constancy of war must be disturbing. And since Hiroshima (and I'm not badmouthing Harry Truman here), terrifying.

[Dylan Macadham]

War, the triumph of instinct over wisdom.
Well writ.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. To fight for self preservation is instinct, but not all wars are fought for that reason.

[Betty Hermelee]

I believe wars will go on one after the other... and we are staring at a few right now.... people are nationalistic in tendency....religious wars have gone on for centuries... it doesn't matter what we learn in history classes...really.....we don't learn from our mistakes....
Warmly, B

[John the Baptist]

It's the tribes, B., the tribes. Early humans banded together in tribes to survive, and at a certain point the tribes became competitive. The rest is history.

[Betty Hermelee]

happy holidays my friend!
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Vol]

John,
I often imagine a small tribal group sitting around the fire at night, worrying about that tribe moving in on the other side of the hill, and what kinds of weapons are necessary to counter the threat they obviously pose. NO. We NEVER learn.
Vol

[John the Baptist]

Be compassionate, Vol. Those early tribes had no way of foreseeing Hiroshima.

[Vol]

Still, I think it is nature over nurture...

[Grant]

Curious your opinion on whether a nation’s participation in war can be noble. What about its initiation of war?

[John the Baptist]

I think the allied war against fascism was noble. I also think the war against ISIS was also noble. Nothing is either always right or always wrong.

[carl]

Putin bombed the Ukraine on Christmas Eve - that would seem to be wrong, always. but that's just me. Your point is well taken, - The two items you mentioned would seem to be necessary be they right or wrong. - carl

[Chris Shaw]

We never learn and there is more conflict in our world now than ever before sadly. I dread what the future may bring.

Chris

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Chris. Had the victorious allies not imposed such a harsh peace on Germany after WW1, Hitler might not have appealed to the German people. Of course that was not the way things went, and WW2 followed. And the present situation is just part of what went down after that great bloodletting.

[Marie]

Human beings never seem to learn, do they? They are so full of greed and negativity, prejudice and adverse to anything which does not line their pockets. If our beautiful world comes to an end, its destruction will have been caused by human beings, that's guaranteed. War has been our companion from history first began to be noted. It may be around after we all have gone for many, many more centuries to come. World leaders are not interested in loving people or countries only in killing them and taking over their lands. While great progress has been made in so many different ways in our lifetime, in some ways I feel we have regressed sharply. Very thought provoking write, dear J. B... Thank you for sharing...

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Marie. With the weapons available today, the old ways of governing must be taken off the table.

[Marie]

Agree, dear J. B ..

[MCS]

“Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it.” This line by George Santayana came to mind as I read your expertly penned words.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks. People quote that line often. But the shooting goes on.

[Lorry]

As long as we think "they started it" is a valid excuse to destroy each other, then we'll keep on doing it like disgruntled bullies in the schoolyard with a chip on their shoulder the size of Wisconsin.
I don't know how big that is, but am surmising it's quite big.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Lorry. It has to be big to accommodate all those breweries.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

growing up, i was so confident that there will never be another big war like the ones we had long before i was born. the assumption was that we humanity had learned our lesson. the assumption was that people were intellient and compassionate. okay, looks like i was wrong about that. this sad reality. these goddamn maniacs.

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Eng. They called WW1 the war to end all wars. That prediction was somewhat off.