You can misunderstand the world, which is stupid. Or you can
have a bad memory, which is no use. So the best option is to
lie to yourself; then at least you’re under your own control.
How else is optimism possible?
Japanese air force chief General Toshio Tamogami wrote, in an
essay denying Japan’s wartime history (which got him fired):
“A nation that denies its own history is destined to pursue
a path of decline.”
Of course it’s not true. Every nation fictionalizes its history,
which angers its historical victims but otherwise doesn’t seem
to have much effect.
copyright 2008, 2024 Jay J.P. Scott
<jay@satirist.org>