Learning from the past

Why do we never seem to learn the lessons of the past? The actions of others could point the way for us in the future. But either we forget these lessons or we deliberately choose to misinterpret them, or knowing them, we simply fail to act on them.

Because of the economic boom in China, its government has become worried in recent years about selfish motives overtaking society. Many Chinese have been saying for some time that the traditional values of harmony, respect and hard work have been lost. So a few years ago the government focused attention again on the teachings of Confucius, the ancient philosopher.

Prior to the 1900s, Confucianism had not been fashionable, but now, in a country which is currently developing at a dizzying speed, it offers a sense of stability and order. The Confucian saying that nowadays sums up the government’s philosophy is ‘harmonious society’.

Sometimes it is difficult to learn from the past because the standards of the ‘teacher’ are so high. This is certainly the case with Nelson Mandela, who preached the message of reconciliation to two sides in South Africa who hated each other deeply. Mandela had always been ideologically committed to peace, and while he was living in prison, he became determined that reconciliation was the only way to unite his divided country:

All those who strive for peace know that in the long term they will have to begin this dialogue. Yet few are able to follow the example set by Mandela, because it requires such a high degree of unselfishness. It seems that heeding this warning – not to be selfish – is perhaps the hardest lesson of all for people to learn.

HUGHES, J.; STEPHENSON, H. Life advanced. Nacional Geographic Learning. Cheriton House, 2018. p. 10)