George Santayana’s wise and insightful warning that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” has become an axiom for us perennially to keep in mind.
I would immodestly, however, chance to add a corollary by asserting that while we must never forget history, we must not allow it to become a heavy iron weight tied around our necks that pulls us down and drowns our abilities to rekindle our optimism and imagine a better way forward.
In other words, we must not continually use the past as justification for giving up, for surrendering to the apparent impossibilities posed by seemingly irreconcilable and intractable differences between individuals, groups, and entire nations.
The great Eleanor Roosevelt said that “No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.”
Thus, this far-right-wing Israeli government, then, is diluted by asserting that it will wipe out Hamas by invading Gaza. Hamas is diluted by claiming it will drive Jews into the Mediterranean Sea for all time.
Too much water has flowed beneath the metaphorical bridge (history) for the parties to liberate themselves from the continuing cycle of displacement, of bitterness, of competition and claims over rights to the land, and of interethnic and interreligious resentments, suspicions, and rivalries.
Too many are reconciled to their firm positions that resolution or reconciliation is not possible, that there has been too much blood spilled and treasure lost to ever find peace.
And with this comes the blame on all sides, which only excites people to more violence.
The history of the Middle East, and especially between Palestinians and Jews, abounds with blame, recrimination, and retaliation, and an escalating perpetual cycle of mistrust and cruelty. And there is indeed plenty of justifiable blame to go around on multiple levels and sides.
But as we blame and blame and blame and then we expect different results, we are certainly left with insanity resulting in increasing tensions, violence, death, and the possibility of an ever-widening breakout of war and destruction.
Any form of nuanced or non-binary analysis of the Middle East conflict catches flack on the political Left and the Right. And this is how the political Left (on the side of the Palistinians only) and the political Right (on the side of Israel only) form a circle and merge at the margins, and the cycle continues.
Can we at least suspend blame for a while? Yes, yes, yes, this is very difficult. I know that oh too well!
But, by suspending blame, we are not forgetting the history but rather, we are engaging in an emotional ceasefire for a time.
Maybe, just maybe then we might be able rekindle our optimism and imagine a better way forward.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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