by Brandon Smith
There is a certain level of dishonesty in the common study of history. We look back at the tyrannies of the past, the monstrous governments, the devastating wars and the unimaginable crimes, and we wonder how it could have been possible. How could the people of that particular generation let such atrocities come to pass? Why didn’t they do something? Why didn’t they protest? Why didn’t they fight back?
We wonder all of this as we absorb the lists of dates, names and actions in books written by other men who memorized other lists of dates, names and actions. We are taught to study and wonder without ever actually applying the lessons of the past to the developments of today. We are conditioned to assert our own narrow spin on yesterday, instead of placing ourselves in the shoes of our ancestors or recognizing that their struggles remain our struggles. The modern method of viewing history detaches us from it, making it seem distant, alien or surreal.
Perhaps many societies fail to prepare or act in the face of tyranny because they had forgotten their own histories, making the demise of their culture appear so schizophrenic they would not believe what their eyes were telling them.
Often, the only way to grasp the more complete truth of the present is to examine it through the lens of the absurd. Sadly, our Nation, our culture and most of the world around us have become so backward, ugly, feeble and twisted that the only adequate comparison is to the nightmares of surrealists.
We are not fighting back because we still cling to the hope that the United States will overcome our domestic enemies using political methods. This is a false assumption.
Kafka’s writings influenced the likes of Ray Bradbury and George Orwell. This stream of thought, mixed in with the theology of social Darwinism created the science of Eugenics. The person on trial, with no hope of justice are the masses . They were not born of the elite nor are they intelligent enough to promote the elite’s agenda. The elite justify their rule over the masses to save the earth for themselves and to evolve into a state of evolutionary hybrid.