Talking Past Each Other

I had wanted to write a post earlier, but didn't really have any material to do so.

Then I hung out on the 'net for a bit more, and I remembered what it was that I wanted to write about---the violent attempt at selectively changing/erasing history to force it to match the current trends of what is considered socio-politically acceptable.

On the one hand, I can understand why people can get very angry at the historical monuments that were built in the past to commemorate the events/people that had oppressed them. They have every right to get angry, especially when the supposed improvements in relations between the formerly oppressed and former oppressors seemed to have regressed in recent times.

On the other hand, I do not think that tearing down such monuments in a violent way is going to do anything to help right the wrongs, neither is it productive to vandalise such monuments. To me, the act of the oppressed tearing down the historical monuments of their oppressors is no different in consequence as the oppressors tearing down any form of rememberance of the oppressed---in either case, history is effectively erased. This means that whatever lesson it was that was supposed to have learnt gets lost, which is arguably a worse effect. The oppressed should not want to be forgotten of the past where they were oppressed; the oppressors needed to remember that there was a time where they had done the oppressing, and had since learnt how not to be like that.

It's about the revenge cycle. If there is no attempt by either side to forgive the past, then the revenge cycle will just keep perpetuating, and no one will be the wiser from it. Wars that were meant to end all wars will return, and the philosophies that were demonstrated as being inherently evil/wrong will have the opportunity to return under the disguise of ``righting the destruction of history''.

When people are talking/shouting past each other, can any resolution ever be reached? I think not. But to get both sides to talk to each other requires a certain level of calmness that is really hard to come by in this time and age of ``fake news'', egotistical ``leaders'' who have no care about the nation, and the age of ``managing the right optics''.

I suppose all thoughts that humanity has matured after fighting two world wars is just a pipe dream.

I don't have an answer, just the lamentation.

Till the next update.