Paul Bede Johnson Quote

"The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false."

by:	Paul Bede Johnson (1928-) English journalist, popular historian, speechwriter, and author
Source:	The Recovery of Freedom (1980)
Rating:
Categories:	Education, History, Arrogance, Humility, Ignorance, Power, Deception, Knowledge
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ABSOLUTELY ! ! ! We hold this truth to be self evident. (-; or maybe not? ;-)  -- Mike, Norwalk      6
Our government may study history, but they pay no attention to it's lessons.  -- jim k, austin      6
I laugh, of course, because most everyone thinks it is the 'other guy' living under glib assumptions while their own arrogance goes unchecked.  -- E Archer, NYC      7
HEAR, HEAR!!! Too many of us in this country suffer from intelectual laziness. There are historical records that most people ignore. I tell people all of the time, "Do your own real research in a library!"  -- KrlyQ, Irving      6
Anyone who has ever read Toynbee's "A Study of History" knows that civilizations keep repeating the same mistakes that lead to their own decay and destruction. Every 'brilliant' new politician just knows that this time it will be different. Nobody ever listens to those who know better. So it goes. If you are wise you will expect the stupidity and plan accordingly and be pleasantly surprised if they actually do something intelligent for a change. The only problem is there never is any real change.  -- Ken, Allyn, WA      5
-- Anonymous
There is nothing new under the sun.  -- Anon      3
History is a horror story written for children.  -- RBESRQ      2
None of you have mentioned what history books and what authors offer the most objective history. If you haven't read Noam Chomsky's "People's History of the U. S." you don't really know our own history. Might lead you to also read Barbara Tuchman, Henry Steele Commager, the Durants, or James Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me." It MATTERS who is doing the writing.  -- Dick, Fort Worth      3 1
Thanks for the excellent recommendations, Dick. Cheers.  -- Editor, Liberty Quotes      2
-- Mary - MI
The "WOKE Crowd" are all too very Ignorant of History 🎯 👍 🎯 👍  -- Mary, MI
The same old rackets dressed in different colors.  The ruling class uses the same old tactics as their predecessors.  Biden's a veteran appropriator of others' speeches, and does it so poorly, that he gives up the game.  The entire statist racket is a regulating body over a bankrupt agency.  The patient is never to get well, but it will be the source of wealth, power, and prestige for the elite.  They want the urban plantation to encompass the suburbs, making all wards of the state. But without printing debt and shifting from dependency to prosperity, there becomes little need of the state as we provide for ourselves much better than the state ever could.  The state is a parasite and a slaver.  We are to be kept powerless unless we have been yoked to the state for its labor. The folks directing this know what they are doing.  It is straight out of the Communist playbooks.  They are deliberately trying to break the bank in America.  It's never been so in-your-face obvious.  -- E Archer, NYC      1
-- jim k, Austin

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