Despite the grandiose claims of marketers, it would seem that there is truly nothing genuinely new under the sun. Of course, there are new apps to download on our cell phones, or new models of cars being loudly advertised in magazines. Yet when it comes to people and how we relate to others, it would appear that the same kind of thing happens repeatedly.
One of the reasons that the study of history is so important is because it reveals the way people have related to one another over time. Tragically, it seems, we have not learned from our previous mistakes! Humanity continues to make the same mistakes year after year.
Part of our problem is that we continue to be easily seduced by claims that appeal to our temporal lusts and desires. People keep promising us worldly happiness and we continue to succumb to its carnal appeal. We continue to place our hope in people and we are repeatedly disappointed. Regardless of how many times people fail and disappoint us, we continue to learn nothing from the past.
Wise people learn from the past. They are not gullible to the same worldly appeals. They watch the folly of people and they take note. The wise are rarely taken by surprise.