Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), the Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin, once stated: “If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.” Our absence to do that, may explain a lot.
I think, feel and believe (sic!) that history is not important to us because we do not believe in history. In general, we view that history is in the past, and the past is dead and buried. However, our saying that ‘history repeats itself‘ contradicts that view: history may be dead but it’s not buried. We can learn from history.
Many people look at the weather and say the climate has changed. The weather is just a day, year or decade in a climate history of about 4.5 billion years. Throughout Earth’s history, climate change has been the default; not the exception. Ignoring the other 6 contributors to climate change, says that history is not important to us.
We could have learned from the Spanish flu of 1918. Historians assume that human mortality amounted to some 4.5% (my 2020 blog). Corona mortality rates are indeed similar (c.5%) but only for the group of 5% symptomatic virus carriers. Hence, the cumulative corona mortality rate is some 0.25% ( = 5% x 5%).
Nobody is asking the only relevant question: why is a group of about 95% of people asymptomatic? History shows that it’s usually the other way around: say 95% symptomatic and 5% asymptomatic. The reason for this anomaly is a mystery. My only explanation is the successful human engineering of the MERS-CoV virus, including its subsequent escape (eg, during the relocation of a BSL-4 lab).
Another way of looking at the above is that Knowledge is becoming less important and Power is becoming more important. This fits in my concept of Love, Knowledge & Power, including the cycle from trialism to dualism to monism.
I’m concerned and worried by something that other people may not even see as a problem: Love’s in Need of Love Today (see song below). Various types of Love are disappearing: our love for a Supreme Being (apápe), our love for family members (storge), our love for strangers (xenia), our love for friends (philia), and also self-love (philautia). I do not believe that any society is sustainable without Love.
Writing the above is like inflicting pain to myself. I’m comforted by having noticed this proverb from Ecclesiastes 1, verse 18: “For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” Actually, this proverb makes things more bearable (for me).
Several of my past blogs start with a quote from The Fellowship of the Ring (1954) by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973):
“And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge.”
Love’s in Need of Love Today (1976) by Stevie Wonder
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
Good morn’ or evening friends
Here’s your friendly announcer
I have serious news to pass on to everybody
What I’m about to say
Could mean the world’s disaster
Could change your joy and laughter to tears and pain
[Chorus]
It’s that love’s in need of love today
Don’t delay, send yours in right away
Hate’s goin’ round, breaking many hearts
Stop it please before it’s gone too far
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless stated otherwise.
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