Facing up to the past – 1976
There are lots of lessons to be learnt from the past. We repeat all the same mistakes. It is time we took note. My mate Rod had a poster on his wall which said something to the effect that we should teach history in the morning before anything else happens.
Here are some lessons we should take on board:
No-one knows the answers. Those who say they have answers are after something.
Violence always creates more violence.
Never trust a politician, banker or industrialist. Leaders steal your mind and sanity.
Anyone who seeks power should automatically be banned from office.
When someone says they want to serve the public it is best to enquire whether it is with arsenic or cyanide.
Money does not bring happiness. Money brings death in many forms.
Inequality creates misery. We do not have to have inequality.
The winners are often the biggest losers.
War, torture and cruelty are always wrong even if they temporarily make you feel good.
History is not always a good judge. A lot of the good things are never recorded.
The winners write the history.
Punishment does not change people; love changes people.
Quick solutions always take longer.
Sometimes we have to look back to see where we’ve been so that we can sort a better way forward.
Your memory lets you down. It is reinvented as we go along.
Opher 17.12.2014