It Repeats

Clichés become clichés especially when there is an element of truth to the saying. One such cliché, “history repeats itself” is a classic example. History, as the cliché goes is repeating itself today. Oddly enough, is while people say that history repeats itself, too many fail to realize what part of history is actually repeating. While sometimes the repetition is a good thing and positive things spawn from it, the sad truth is if we don’t notice the repetition we will never learn the lessons it tries to teach. Ultimately we end up constantly making the same mistakes over and over. Some people will say that the internet has nothing to do with the steam engine. The fact is the steam engine has a lot to do with internet. Others have said that the American Revolution is nothing like the conflict over Jerusalem. This too is an incorrect assumption. Whether or not the fact is accepted, the truth is history repeats, evolves, changes slightly, and people rarely ever learn from it. These examples come through positive and negative aspects of society that have been handed down for generations. Man’s needs cause these positive and negative traits of societies today and of many yesteryears.

Man nature is one of curiosity and discovery, to push the limits of the known universe. In fact, religion was created by the ancient peoples so that they could make sense of things beyond their understanding. However, the thirst for knowledge soon grew beyond religious boundaries. “The world we now view from the literate West – the vistas of time, the land and the seas, the heavenly bodies and our own bodies (…) had to be opened for us by countless Columbus’,” (Boorstin xv). These doors would not be open to us today if man did not have a dire need to know about the world around them. So many people through the generations have needed to know what lies beyond yesterday’s common knowledge, forcing old ideas of the world to change and become today’s facts. “The Scientific Revolution questioned and ultimately challenged conceptions of the external world (…) that had crystallized into a rather strict orthodoxy by the Late Middle Ages,” (Spielvogel 460). The questioning of the scientists and philosophers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries opened the eyes of many people, letting them enter into a world of reason. If the scientists did not wish to know what was beyond the rigid conceptions of their time, the truth of the skies and the external world may have stayed a mystery. If it were not for man’s thirst for knowledge, the technological advancements of today may not exist. “Without question, the industrial revolution involved some of the most profound changes in history,” (Newton 1). The Industrial Revolution provided us with ideas and items (such as the internal-combustion engine and the telephone) that we could not live without today. Those visionaries who fundamentally changed the world from an agrarian society to a modern, industrial world between the eighteenth and nineteenth century, led the way to a faster-paced future. “The impact of the personal computer to the average American has been enormous – in addition to its usefulness at the office, it has become a source of entertainment, culture, and education,” (Brower 1). The world we know, would have been impossible without the ideas of people who came before us. Today’s culture was inspired by a characteristic of society that has repeated since the beginning of time, man’s yearn for knowledge. However, our culture is also inspired through man’s need to express.

Man’s need to express has produced some of today’s greatest art, architecture, and music. The styles change and evolve as the time passes; however, as the innate need to express is passed down from generation to generation, the beauty of this characteristic remains. “The cave paintings at Lascaux and Altamira (…) are among the earliest product of the human creative urge,” (Cunningham 4). Man’s need to express has produced masterpieces since, before recorded history. Although primitive it shows what people of that day thought. If it weren’t for these early paintings, we might have never known what the earliest people cared about. “Spurred by the melancholy conviction that their own era was a dark age, they (Renaissance artists) sought enlightenment in the grandeur of once mighty Greece and Rome,” (Graham-Dixon 12). Renaissance artists produced masterpieces using styles of antiquity, while still portraying the advancements and sensibilities of the age. By using less emotionally intense scenes, the artists of the Renaissance better inform us of the rebirth of knowledge and secularism of the time. “The term (Romantic) covered a range of ideas: (…) that the individual human imagination could immerse itself in the universal fabric; but also that the creative mind (…) would yearn for harmony between man and nature,” (Wolf 9). Romantic art portrayed a revolt against reason in the early nineteenth century. Without Romantic art we would not be able to see within the hearts and minds of the people in the nineteenth century. Man’s need to express produce much beauty, but it can also let us see into the actual lives of past generations. “The belief that the world should be viewed realistically, frequently expressed after 1850, was closely related to the materialistic outlook,” (Spielvogel 672). Besides being pure masterpiece’s, man’s need to express in a realistic fashion lets us look into the lives of the lower class of the nineteenth century. Due to the need to express, we know more about the hearts, minds, and lives of past generations. However, man’s needs are not always positive, such as man’s need to own and control which, has caused wars since the dawn of time.

Man has a need of ownership which, throughout time has caused many wars and disputes to erupt. Since Ug saw that Og had a better stretch of land, the seed of man’s conflict was inevitable. Although it has formed the world we know today, the need to own has caused a massive body count over the generations. “Antony’s intention to rule with Cleopatra’s joint-sovereigns over his share of the empire soon became clear (…) and a new civil war (…) was now inevitable,” (Augustus 1). Since Roman times conflict over land ownership has broken out among people. In large scale cases, it takes a large amount of casualties to finish the dispute. “The American colonies’ relationship with England, which had grown increasingly strained during the first half of the eighteenth century, continued to deteriorate during the 1750’s and 1760’s,” (Revolution in North America 1). Man’s need to own causes casualties and bitter rivalries through wars and conflicts. These conflicts lead to hard feelings and a thirst for revenge if territories are lost, causing even more bloodshed. Man’s need to own is selfish and causes more problems than necessary. “For Prussian to expand its power by dominating the northern (…) part of the Germanic Confederation, Austria would have to be excluded from Germanic affairs,” (Spielvogel 653). The Austro-Prussian War captured territories that were rightfully Austrian from Austria to add to Germany. Also, Prussia’s battles, for ownership, with Austria and other various countries set the groundwork for a worse war, World War I. Some ownership conflicts seem endless and probably are. “Jerusalem has seen its borders shift over its 3000-year history and this history has left Israel and Palestinians conflicted over the territory,” (Cooperman 1). Conflicts over the need to own Jerusalem, for its historical, strategic, and religious significance, has left it a permanent war zone. It has been ripped apart by war and its culture intensified by fear. The need to own causes horrendous problems. However, if people took pride in what they owned, this world may not be torn by wars. Unfortunately, people feel the need to own more. This is not the only devastating need of man though.

Man’s hubris in believing his religion is the only true religion has caused immeasurable suffering throughout history. “They (Inquisitionists) sought to save souls from eternal damnation by persuading heretics to renounce their false beliefs and return to the fold of the Catholic Church,” (Stalcup xvi). The Inquisition left thousands of Jews and Muslims homeless. Isabella of Castile’s need to have a purely Catholic Spain destroyed the lives of many as well as crippled Spain’s economy. The different ideas of one religion can lead to problems throughout a continent. “He (Luther) split with the church, destroying the religious unity of Western Christendom,” (Spielvogel 367). The Reformation led to horrible problems for both Protestants and Catholic. Protestants got treated terribly in, mainly Catholic, Europe. Eventually Protestants gained greater power and returned the favor. Even today, wars are fought over religion. “This (Iraqi) fighting is generally defined by ethnic and religious divisions: rebellious Sunni Arabs clashing with Shiite Arabs and Kurds,” (Wong 1). The body count for this religious civil war is massive. The problem with men needing their religion to be the right religion is that it prompts a violent response. As Martin Luther King said, “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.”1 However, if people did not bother with what other people believe, the world throughout history would be a calmer place where faith is stronger than needing more people to believe in your faith. Regrettably, men focus on the dominance of their religion that will continue to cause problems until the end of time.

History does indeed repeat itself; both good and bad. Man’s needs to know and express have formed a beautiful advanced world, which we could not live without. However, man’s need to own and to have their religion be the dominant religion will continue to rip the world apart. These characteristics of society, both positive and negative will continue to pass through the generations until the end of time. Without these traits in our world, today’s society would be an entirely different place.

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1 The quote was found at