Shot in the Dark

Memory

Memory is a survival trait.

Squirrels remember where they buried the nut, so they can eat it later
to survive the winter.  Those that don’t, die.

Children remember burning their finger, so they treat fire
respectfully.  Those who don’t, burn to death.

Conservatives remember past public policy disasters, so we can avoid
repeating them.  We use monuments and books to help us remember.

Liberals remember . . . nothing.  Nothing ever happened before they were
born, except slavery, which was bad and therefore everything that
happened before they were born, is bad.  So it must all be torn down and
thrown out and replaced with something that sounds better.  And it must
be done right now, because Liberals have no patience for history lessons
or experience or hard-gained wisdom.  Why would they need any?  What
could possibly go wrong?

Half the population believes President Trump bungled the Covid response
by failing to impose a travel ban and nation-wide lock-down in January,
when Covid hit the news.  They literally cannot remember that we spent
January dealing with impeachment, or the World Health Organization
telling us Covid was nothing to worry about, or hand washing and
elbow-bumps as sensible precautions, or all the Democrat protests over
banned flights from China.  They believe 200 million Americans died of
Covid because they don’t remember differently.

Loss of memory is an anti-survival trait and half our society is eagerly
embracing it.  This does not bode well for the continued existence of
the nation.

Joe Doakes

I’m not sure it’s entirely fair to say “Progressives” (I’m not gonna continue debasing the term “liberal” – the left did enough of that) have no memory.

Orwell showed us how important controlling history – our “collective” story about ourselves – was to a would-be tyrant. This has been borne out in countless socialist and totalitarian regimes – knowing the wrong history could be a lethal error.

Having the correct memory, the one one is told to have, correctly and punctually, is a survival trait, historically (ahem) on the left.

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Comments

12 responses to “Memory”

  1. Pig Bodine Avatar
    Pig Bodine

    sounds like JD has been reading Kipling again

    “…
    As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man —
    There are only four things certain since Social Progress began —
    That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
    And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire —
    And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
    When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins
    As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn
    The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!”

    whole thing here:
    https://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/gods_of_copybook_headings.html

  2. Pig Bodine Avatar
    Pig Bodine

    really? moderation on Kipling?

  3. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    Pig, you surprised? If you were quoting Mao or Marx the quote would have slipped through unmolested.

  4. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    Squirrels remember where they buried the nut, so they can eat it later
    to survive the winter. Those that don’t, die.

    Well, that’s a wrong premise JD. Squirrels never remember. They just hide nuts all over the place, in as many places as they can, so that when they need them, they are everywhere. It is the squirrels that do not plant enough, die. But the analogy is still apropo vis-a-vis progressives – they shit all over the place, hoping something will stick even though it stinks to high heaven.

  5. kinlaw Avatar
    kinlaw

    You forgot Nazi Pelosi urging everyone to go to Chinatown and party in Feb, and Gropy Joe holding rallies in March.

  6. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    Pig;

    We should be happy that it’s only moderation.

    It seems that WordPress is following the Big Tech oligarchs in censoring conservatives.

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/11/15/the-treehouse-is-deplatformed/comment-page-3/

  7. jdm Avatar
    jdm

    Pig! What an interesting poem. Thanks.

  8. Pig Bodine Avatar
    Pig Bodine

    jdm
    if you liked that one, try this(NSFW)
    https://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/ladies.html

    it starts:
    “I’ve taken my fun where I’ve found it;
    I’ve rouged an’ I’ve ranged in my time;
    I’ve ‘ad my pickin’ o’ seethearts,
    An’ four o’ the lot was prime.”
    …
    and ends with
    “For the Colonel’s Lady an’ Judy O’Grady
    Are sisters under their skins!”

  9. SmithStCrx Avatar
    SmithStCrx

    I tried having a discussion with a liberal friend on one of his Facebook posts yesterday. My entire position was, “The articles I’ve looked at, CNN and the Hill, don’t explain the situation enough for me to form an opinion.” I was repeatedly attacked by his liberal friends for that because the situation obviously shows Republicans’ racism and I shouldn’t spout off without knowing what I’m talking about. My favorite attack accused me of not knowing my history.

    I think when I log back into Facebook in a couple of days my cover photo will become Reagan’s quote about liberals knowing so much that just isn’t so.

  10. bikebubba Avatar
    bikebubba

    Smith nails it. When I read about liberals not remembering, my thought was about Reagan pointing out that what they know (remember) just not being so. I remember the fun I and some of my friends had in high school when, with no prodding, we reminded our fairly liberal teacher that there was a reason that the Depression was the longest panic to date, and others had ended quickly–that reason’s initials being FDR and it’s name being the “New Deal.”

    We didn’t understand our economics well enough to clarify why it happened that way, but it was fun.

  11. Joe Doakes Avatar
    Joe Doakes

    That’s funny Pig.

    I once had a discussion with young people about phonies, what to look for, how to tell they’re virtue-signaling instead of telling the truth. One of the clues was spouting politically acceptable platitudes. For example, every politician eventually is asked “What book is on your bedstand” and they routinely answer with The Bible (Republicans) or with whatever made Oprah’s list (Democrats) because those are the acceptable answers.

    I would fail miserably. My current book is The Canterbury Tales (modern English translation) because I don’t care what people think (they already know I’m odd) so I get to read what I want to.

    I’ll have to put Kipling back in the rotation. Thanks for the reminder.
    .

  12. Pig Bodine Avatar
    Pig Bodine

    JD
    Kipling’s Barrack-Room Ballads/The Seven Seas are great fun to read aloud to young boys(nephews) under the age of nine – they get it and their parents will never thank you for it! Young girls(nieces) just look at you with ill concealed trepidation.

    I have been permanently banished from baby sitting after I read Casabianca – by Felicia Hemans (1826) as a bedtime story to a six year old. Its the poem that starts “The boy stood on the burning deck…”

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