Friday, February 8, 2008

This Time It's Not Different


Quote of the day:
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.”
--Ecclesiastes 1:9

I want to spend another moment considering Alfred North Whitehead’s quote from yesterday.

To paraphrase a cliche, when you live long enough, you see almost everything. Actually, it goes further than that. If you live long enough, you see many things repeat themselves over and over.

This applies especially to bad decisions resulting from delusional thinking, be it mild, moderate or severe. The delusions are more important than just about anything, and we will not let them go. Thus the same bad decisions, over and over and over again.

We all carry around delusions of some sort, often relating to our self-image. Some get us into trouble, but most are benign, the worst consequence being foisting ridiculous arguments and opinions on the people around us.

Two areas that seem especially susceptible to delusional thinking are money and politics. These can be personal and relate to our daily lives, or they can be part of group-think and relate to larger issues.

Two cliches apply:

“The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions over and over, expecting a different result.”
--Source unknown

“Those who don’t understand history are condemned to repeat it.”
--Benjamin Disraeli

Unfortunately, the cliche we often live by, even passionately swear by is:

“This time it’s different.”

Whatever the case, I gotta tell you, it is almost certain that this time it’s not different. Sorry.

I used to think it was charming to say “there’s nothing new under the sun.” But there is much more to it than charm. Maybe even a profound truth.

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