Is the history of the human race a linear history or a cyclical history? 

As I have often explained to many of my classes, there are two views of history. Many believe history is linear. That is that the historical process begins at a specific time and/or place. This beginning could be God’s creation of Adam and Eve or the Big Bang or some other origin. History will also end at a particular time and/or place. Maybe the Second Coming, or a nuclear holocaust or even the universe collapsing into itself. In this view, everything is pretty much preordained. History will end at a certain time and place. If ones follows this out to its logical conclusion, there is not much we can do to stop the flow of history and there is not much point in learning from our mistakes of the past. We are just along for the ride.

Others believe that history is cyclical. History goes back and forth circling around like a huge wheel. We constantly repeat our behaviors and mistakes. For the person who holds this view, the only way to break the cycle is to recognize the mistakes of the past and avoid repeating them. Learning from our mistakes of the past allows the human race to create a better world.

Although I am not a historian, I tend to hold the cyclical view. I think it is more optimistic and offers a hope for the betterment of the world. In light of that, one has to look at the past and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. In that light let’s look at past history and decide if we are repeating those mistakes. 

Just in the twentieth century alone we can see many mistakes that the human race has made. World wars I and II. Hitler, Stalin, McCarthy, Nixon, the Holocaust, the gilded age that ended with the Great Depression. This is only a sampling of human errors and tragedies in this past century. Imagine how many we can list if we examined all if human history. How can we use this past to teach us about the present?

One of the way we can compare two periods of time is to see what the similarities are between the events of the past and today. One example might be the McCarty hearings in the Fifties and the Nixon Watergate period of the Seventies with today’s events. One behavior of these common to these periods was “making lists.” 

Joe McCarthy claimed he had a list of 250 known communists in the State Department. Nixon had an enemies list. 

Even Shakespeare in one of the scenes from Julius Caesar describes how Anthony and Octavius discuss who shall be placed on the proscription list.

So we know that making enemies list is a behavior of tyranny. So, is that happening now?

Just this past week information revealed that Trump was in the process of developing an enemies list of those who had pushed his impeachment.

Another behavior of tyrants is racism. Developing an out-group is essential for the autocrat. Hitler, as is well-known, went after Jews and political enemies. So does Trump. Only it is Latinos and Blacks. At least it is starting that way.

This list could go on forever. Trump’s crimes are known to one and all. Pedophilia, serial adulatory, over 16,000 lies. The list of his crimes would fill an encyclopedia. The question is whether we can learn to break the cycle of history now before it is too late. If Trump is re-elected I predict that he will engage in a reign of terror worthy of Robespierre. 

History is warning us. We can break this cycle if we have the will to do so. If we don’t God help us.