History and Civilization

Some ramblings of mine...springing off of the reading we were doing on the Code of Hammurabi.


Rules; they are like a disease. Nobody really likes them, but without them we are nothing. Every successful civilization has had rules. Every successful home has a set of rules. They protect us, but if abused, they limit us. Laws are like women. You can’t stand to live with them, but without them life is just horrible. It is a wonder that rules are so easily abused and misused in today’s society. Sometimes, our authority figures can be just as corrupt and lawless as the crooks they claim to be protecting us from. Favoritism seems to run rampant. Humanity as a whole appears to be quite self-serving. It does what it wants when it wants in order to get or achieve whatever serves it best; even at another’s expense. The rich have decided that money is law. The poor have decided that law is whatever favors the rich. Law is protection, but protection for whom? Who created this system? We should find them and hang them. On the other hand, we should find the one who perverted it. Where are the upright, and who can find justice? Our agenda is our agenda, no matter the cost. Why do we have millions upon millions of laws? We have laws that explain laws. We have laws that contradict laws. We have laws that contradict our most basic rights. But we the people, the supposed protectors of justice and freedom, haven’t the slightest idea; or the slightest care as to what the government does to our rights. It would seem that revolution never comes until it is too late. Bloodshed, hurt, and pain always accompany it. Why must we wait this long to realize that we have had the proverbial wool pulled over our eyes? The government was created to protect our rights, not to dictate them to us. If the government says jump, should we jump? If they say dig a hole should we reply with how deep? I saw no. We are (or were) a government for the people, by the people. Why has this changed? What will it take to awaken us to reality? Will it take another holocaust? Or perhaps it will take another socialized government takeover of our lives? We stand by passively watching our government burn down a nation. Our economics are flushed down the toilet time and time again because we try to fix our economy using tactics that have been proven to bring destruction and economic downfall. Will we ignore history? It seems as if we will. We have no concern as to what has been shown to build or destroy empires. We only care about our selfish desires, regardless of underlying consequences. We are a nation that is slowly burning itself to the ground. Like Nero who set fire to Rome, we will look back and blame another in our retrospect. Our mistakes are not our mistakes. Why should they be when we are as self loathing and self serving a society as we are? This is the darkness of the situation. We have no respect, no regard, and no recognition for our own humanity. We do not care about civilization, because if it goes down we will always have a scapegoat. This problem, this disregard for history and its effects on our futures, will be our downfall. Time is not linear as we think it is. It is circular. There is nothing new under the sun. No idea, no circumstance, no phenomenon exists that hasn’t existed in a time past. When will we learn this? When will society realize that our future, and the futures of our offspring rests solely on our ability to learn from our pasts, and to take positive action upon our learning. We must become a people of action. We must become a people who yearn for a better tomorrow, and are willing to act upon that yearning. We must learn to accept the council and example of a time past, so that we can create a more excellent future.