George Santayana, in his book “Reason and Common Sense”, proffered that:
“Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.”
A powerful thought frequently applied (and misquoted) as filler for the protagonist and for this reason I’ve often wondered if its meaning, and the causal force that lies behind it, are truly understood. Whatever the case it seems most likely that the real condemnation is not that humans forget history but more so that it is the adaptation to a selectively crafted version of history that is the greatest danger of all.
The totalitarian understands and relies upon shaping projecting imagery: the ability to contour a message that grafts itself to the public conscience. With persistence and repetitiveness the public will adopt and adapt to the seemingly glorious metaphors of polarity (us vs. them) which then become the new, simulated, reality.
Meanwhile, those who remain capable of distinction become marginalized and ultimately smothered by the overwhelming weight of newly-bred state of ignorance. This leaves us all with an entirely new question: Is it a lapse-in-memory that is to blame for repetitive doom or is it merely the arrogance of crafted-ignorance? There’s nothing quite like a really good simulated reality coming face to face with an immovable fact and having occurred, the causal forces are far too frequently forgotten.
Curtis C. Greco, Founder
