History

George Santayana, a Spanish-American Philosopher once

said, “Those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat

it.” I have heard that tidbit of knowledge many times before,

but had to Google to find the esteemed author who said it.

I would add, “History is made after its happening every day."

And I most assuredly shall not earn widespread recognition

for saying that. Could be that this trivial piece of mine may

be read by you on Facebook today.

What’s more, most of the pithy sayings cast out there in the

ether will never be heard or read by most of the more than

7-billion inhabitants who currently exist on this planet of ours.

When I was a child way back when, at a point in mankind’s

history, say the mid to late 1950s, there were approximately

3-billion of our species living out their histories world-wide.

Of course there was no Internet or light-speed connectivity

then, making it unlikely that profound or life-changing phil-

osophies would ever be recorded to benefit those of us who

were destined to follow. We have, however, inherited guide-

lines and mandates for life brought forth to us in the Dead

Sea Scrolls, the Old and New Testaments, the Koran, the

Torah, the Book of Mormon, the Bhagavad Gita and other

holy scriptures by which to live our lives. Personally, I sub-

scribe to the cynical satire proposed by the likes of of Mark

Twain, Will Rogers, Mel Brooks, George Carlin, Dave Chappelle

and Whoopi Goldberg. They rarely condoned violence, yet used

sarcasm to profess a sincere righteous and contentious criticism

of the French, religion, social mores and the Congress of the

United States. They have given us a unique and poignant pers-

pective by which we mortal human beings can look back and

have a damned good laugh at our ofttimes and otherwise pitiful

history. The saga continues today. And yes folks, for the most

part, we seem complaisant, and would have it no other way.

Chris Hanch 8-14-19