Wednesday, September 1, 2010

In her editorial entitled "Salem Witch Trials", Christina Harris suggests that something like the Salem Witch Trials could happen again in America. In fact, she proposes the idea that, as a nation, we have already engaged in this type of behavior on a number of occasions. Read her editorial (linked on our class web page) and comment on her views. Do you feel that history repeats itself? On what points do you agree or disagree with Ms. Harris? Why? Make a reference to something in her editorial and comment on her views, while sharing your own and responding to the views of your classmates. Can you think of other times in American History when we have wrongly stereotyped, exiled, or exterminated innocent people? Are there other examples of "history repeating itself"?

47 comments:

  1. I personally agree with Harris, that history repeats itself but not necessarily to the same degree. Situations that are similar can happen again but I don't feel that the same exact incident repeats itself; due to the fact that we learn from past mistakes. Although, we have in the passed headed in the same direction, we most likely create a new place in history. When Harris stated that the same idea of the salem witch trials is happening to Muslims. I for right now disagree. Muslims should not as a whole be put on "trail" for the incident of 9/11. It was planned and executed by extremists, who yes believe in the same religion, but are completely different people than Muslims in general. They are people and should not be stereotyped for terrorists. As Americans we can't afford to do this nor exile or exterminate, we mustn't judge the people as a whole but if you must them do it based on the individual. Pearl Harbor was definatly an incident where Americans exiled and exterminated a group of people, other religious groups have been targeted over history including the Jews, and Muslims. Other examples of history repeating itself, would be the crisis we have going on in Africa. The only way we can prevent hstory from repeating itself is if we learn from the past and are willing to change the future for the better.

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  2. I also happen to agree with the views expressed in the editorial. it is true that over time patterns in human behavior do occur. These patters, whether they be related to war, politics, or the hunting and convicting of innocent victims are found to follow closely after a large scale event. Take the extermintaion of the jewish population during WWII for example. The aryan race (Germans) felt that their countries "purness" was being ruined. As an awnser they took their anger and aggression out on those of jewish faith. To face facts, the jewish popultion had done nothing worthy of the treatment given them. The Germans however felt that by simply not being a German, you deserved death. Today, in the middle east, Africa, and Southern and Central America you find the same thing. Particular races and religions are being targeted for extermiantion or deportation simple based on their belifes. This goes to show that history does repeat itself, not just in America, but all over the world. As stated above, unless we change the path to the future, i belive out nation and the world will always fall back on what it already knows.

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  3. I agree with Harris to some degree. I feel that our population as a whole is known for stereotyping those that are different from us. Examples from our history include the Holocaust, African Slave Trade, and after the incident of 9/11. However, not every one can be held to this generality of racism and stereotyping. A group of people of a certain race or religion are not all the same people. Some are more extreme then others. We see this throughout our white culture as well. We discriminated against many cultures and races, yet we are not afraid of our own kind. We had slaves and beat people who were below our status, yet we look down upon African Americans? I feel that every race has good and bad people. It has nothing to do with the color of your skin, but with the maturity and moral personality of each person. I agree with her that our history has shown to repeat itself. And i fear our world will never change, for there will always be cruel people in this world, in every race and culture.

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  5. I agree with a philosopher named George Santayana who said "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them." I believe that if will not learn from past mistakes then we are force to repeat them and so doomed to ignorance. We see governments fight for dirt that they want and send men to fight and die for it. Even there is many flaws in government it is needed to keep structure in an otherwise hectic world. There is not purely good or bad in my opinion but a balance of them though one side maybe easier to see.

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  7. I also agree with Harris when she says that history repeats itself. During the "witch trials" people were discriminated for their color, phyical and mental disabilities just like people still are to this very day. Although here in America racism is illegal, people still pick on other races. Its not only racism, but discrimination of the physically and mentally impaired. In high school, "special" kids are made fun of everyday. This is just like people being persecuted in the witch trials for being witches. Yet, they werent witches, perhaps they were just different? Just like "special ed" kids in high school compared to the example of teenagers that society puts out to the world. Although people arent persecuted for being witches anymore, they are discriminated for other ailments which is in fact, not necessarily a repitition in history, but an ongoing crisis.
    Caitlyn Ferguson, Block 3

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  8. I agree with Harris that history does repeat itself. Many people in this world don't remember the past so they don't change the future. Putting people on trial is one way of bringing closure to things that are a mystery. Closure, to lots of citizens, boosts their confidence about our country and how well we run it, but in reality, it is just a scape goat to distract people's attention. In the past there have been many examples of this such as the holocaust. Certain German's didn't like the Jews so they put them on trial and the majority of the German population felt good from this because it brought closure to their problems. Most of these types of incidences come from evil, cruel people who are mad at the world.

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  9. I for one do not htink history repeats it self. There may be events that seem similar but thats only because we as humans give it worth. We notice likeness's because we look for them. Yes we've been in many wars, but for many different reasons. Segregation and descrimination repeat in all races because theres always poeple who hate. Also as a world, things are almost impossible to repeat,another world war would never work because of new technolgy amd and advancemnts. it would beover with the push of a button.

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  10. Alexis Rubio's post:

    I agree with Harris only to a certain extent. History does repeat itself in some ways.
    For example there are still people being discriminated against for what them believe
    in or how they act. I honestly dont think that anything like the salem witch trials will
    ever happen again. At least not the same degree.
    Alexis Rubio, Block 3

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  11. I partially agree with Harris. I believe that everything happens for a reason even if an event like it has already happened. Problems will always reoccur in our world and most of them we have already had to deal with. Everybody has different views on subjects that can be date back all the way to the 1800’s. Such as all the wars that have happened have all been started by different ways and ended on other terms.

    Jamie Weisman
    Block 3

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  12. I somewhat agree with Harris. I believe history does repeat itself sometimes. If we don't learn from our mistakes, then history will be repeated but if we do, then history won't be repeated. In the case of the Salem Witch Trials, I think we have definitely learned from our mistakes. So I believe nothing like that will ever happen again. I do believe we Americans have wrongly exterminated people. For example the war in Iraq. In my opinion those people in general did nothing wrong to us. We shouldn't have been targeting Iraq, we should've only been targeting the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

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  13. I agree with both Skyler and Alexis that history repeats its self only to an extent. There are always people that get treated differently for the race or religion just like the holocaust and slavery in America. The only thing that will mostly repeat its self is an epidemic. With any thing else it will be a totally different scenario especially with war cause of the technology we have now like the nuclear bomb.
    Jorden Gerlach, Block 3

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  14. I agree with Jordan that history can only repeat it's self to a extent. Ms.Harris is right that we could have another situation in the US like the Salem Witch trials but not the same exact thing. Just like war or president assasinations. They have happend more than once but its not the same thing happening again. History repeating to me would mean one thing happening again the same way same place just different people.

    Joel Block 3

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  15. I agree with pogoluver9 that history repeats itself but not all the time. History has many events that do not repeat. When people want closer they do blame other people just to get it. I thought what Hitler did was a reaped by killing all the Jews. But there are not many repeats.

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  16. I agree with Jordan along with joel about how history repeats itself to an extent. Joel is exactly right when he said that the witch trials are like president asssasinations and war. But they're also like 9/11 and other terrorist attacks. We as a country attack and kill muslim people after terrorist attacks against our country. Even if the people are completely innocent, we think they're associated with the people that are accountable for the attacks just because of their race. All people should be innocent until proven guilty.

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  17. I agree with Harris, I believe that history does repeat its self, but not exactly. There are always wars but they are not always the same. There has never been another Civil War or another World War. And If history repeated its self there would be another Hitler and Mousoline, or slavery would be worse and wouldn't have gone away. To me the world would never be different if history repeated itself. The same things would happen over and over again.

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  18. I agree with Harris that history repeats itself. Although it may not be the same exact event, i believe all tragedy's have some kind of way to repeat themselves. In contrast i also think that positive events can repeat themselves. Negative events will always occur and there is no way to prevent them, and that I think is just one more way to prove the fact that history in fact, does repeat itself.

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  19. I believe that history is redundant, but only in certain aspects. The holocaust, for example, resembled the unfair violence that happened during the Salem Witch trials, but both events weren't completely identical. However, I stand by Harris when she mentions that people need closure. If people have the option of using a scapegoat to put themselves at ease, they would most likely take it. This can be interpreted as discrimination, which has been around since the beginning. It almost seems as if there is no end to prejudice, which leaves one to believe that events similar to the Salem witch hunt will happen again, just under different circumstances.

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  20. I most definately believe that history can repeat its self. In many diffrent situations though. For example, The Hitler event with the jewish has still been going on since. But i also agree that there are many situations where something can not happen twice. Their may be events like what have happend in the past but in diffrent ways, and i think that will be happening until the end of earth. I agree with Harris that their is a strong change of the Salem witch hunt starting again, just not in the a diffrent way.

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  21. I think history can repeat itself if people really make it out to be that way. It doesn't have to be the way that it was if people put out enough effort against discrimination and many other things to change how history was. I do agree with Ms. Harris that a lot of histories events have made a huge impact on certain races such as the 9/11 attack because now the Muslim and Middle Eastern people must be watched at all times like babysitting almost. But I suppose that if it needs to be done to keep everyone safe then it needs to happen. I agree with Alexis that in order to make things different, there needs to be some changes otherwise people will take advantage of some things and they will be doing horrible things to the world and not making it peaceful and just a very good place to be in general.

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  22. I think that History does repeat its self. There are so many examples were people make the same mistakes just in different ways and different settings. For example look at ww1 and ww2, or the segregation of people, which has happened countless times. The same mistakes aren't always made just like they were in the past but each scenario looks very similar to a previous one. From my point of view history does repeat its self.

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  23. I agree with Harris. I belief that history does repeat its self but not all the time. The same events can occur more than once but will not have the same events that happened during that reoccurrence. Wars against the United States are great examples of how history repeats it self. Wars have always started with a certain event but always end with a winner and a loser. In the same way our world would not be different if history always repeated itself.

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  24. I do not believe that history repeats itself completely. I think that it might seem that history repeats, but no war, riot, or historical event has ever been exactly the same as a previous one. However, there will continue to be wars and battles that makes it seem like history is on repeat and it will never end. I agree with Harris that 'witch hunts' will keep on going just like the hunt for Muslims that are trying to destroy America, continues. A time in history that was similar to the witch hunts was when the McCarthyism was in action and they were searching for anyone who had ties with communism. This shows that history can be 'like' a previous historical event, but it is not exactly repeating itself. All points in history may seem like they have occurred in a previous era, but nothing is ever going to be the exact same as it was before. For example, there is not going to be any more witch hunts because that has already been explored and dealt with, however there may be times in the future when Americans decide to go on a hunt for whatever they may think is harming the country. Moreover, history does not repeat itself exactly, but in a sense, historical events may have some type of a correlation to a previous time.

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  25. I agree with Harris in saying that history does repeat itself. However when history does repeat itself it is usually in an entirely different context, to which you wont even compare the two until it has past and you can step back and take a look at those events. I thought there is no way someone can make an argument against Harris's thoughts but when i read Skyler's it truly surprised me, and gave me a split decision. So i guess i have to say that history repeats itself in rights and wrongs of people, and in similar experiences but not completely repeating. I mean Hitler truly did discriminate against Jews and others different from his "superior" race. As did white people in early American days, towards blacks and other foreigners. We were not as extreme as him...but with as many differences, you can still find some similarities. I do believe that a "witch hunt" could happen again....but i believe it will contain either someone that does not exist or some group of people who have wronged our country.

    Cory Block 3

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  26. I understand what Harrris is saying but I don't fully support it. As George Santayana has said,"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it". If we did not look back on slavery as a bad thing, and try our very best to prevent it from ever happening again then that part of history will never repeat. The possibility of history repeating is wholly up to the personal opinions of an individual on prior events. If it was an event that shook a persons values to point of putting effort into making sure it never happens again that it is far less likely to repeat. However, there are certain situations that are greatly similar to those of the past and people will still always do whatever they feel is needed to be done to get ahead and there is no telling what someone will do if they are pushed far enough.

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  27. John H.'s post:

    I agree with Harris to some point. There might be another battle that reasembles the battle at Waterloo by having opponents with the same numbers or having a character that reasembles Napoleon or something. I really don't think that there will be an event that is as crazy an sad as the Salem Witch Trials. Sure, McCarthyism was like it in many ways but still, Witch trials in general killed 1 million+ people.That is a HUGE number.

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  28. Meghan A.'s post:

    I definitely agree with Harris that history repeats itself. The Salem Witch trials were a horrible time when people were being persecuted for being different. Take the Holocaust for example. So many Jews were killed and tortured because the Germans believed that they were better and more deserving. They were subjected to terrible treatment because of their race. Likewise the “witches” from Salem were put in jail and killed for beliefs and sometimes just circumstances. I would like to believe that we learn from our past, but people continue to fall into the same patterns.

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  29. Kirsten B.'s post:

    I agree with Harris, I think that history can repeat itself, but to a certain point. I think that people have been killing other people since the beginning of time. Take murder for example, innocent people get killed everyday because of the acts of others. Just like the Salem witch trials. People also get discriminated just because the color of their skin. In the Salem witch trials people were discriminated because they were "witches".

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  30. Sarah H's post:

    From when all of the commotion with the Muslims began everything has been very kaotic and crazy. In many ways it does remind me of the stories that i read and the movies that i see about the witch hunts and all of the activity that goes along with them. Well obviously not exactly, but all of the judging of people because of their Muslim religion or race and because the color of their skin and what clothes that they wear. Also, it brings back all of the times from before when there was segregation and slavery and when women could not interact in the activities of the government. All of these things were abolished and made right because they were inhumane and wrong, and in my opinion, even though there are terrorists that are Muslim, there have also been terrorists that are every other race including white. So the witch hunt comes back into play when people go after the Muslims and east indians because they are that race, even if they are peaceful and registered Americans.

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  31. Kailyn W's post:

    I agree with Skyler's point, history doesn't really repeat itself. Yes there are similarities in different events but no two events are the same. I think that we try to persuade ourselves into finding some rhyme or reason or pattern of why historical events occur, but in all actuality there is none. For example African Americans were judged as well as Muslims. However these two groups were judged for two completely different reasons.

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  32. Maureen's post:

    I think history does repeat itself. Because everyone has made mistakes, and some learn from those mistakes and others do not. The person who doesn't learn from it repeat the problem. Any country around the world has series of events that effect many. If we do not learn how to avoid those problems that cause the events, than we are all bound to repeat them. So I believe that history does repeat itself.

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  33. Joseph R's post:

    I do agree with Harris, history definitely does repeat itself. The details may differ to each circumstance but the main idea is still the same. “Salem Witch Trials” could happen again in this country. Where we are headed as a country, with all the immoral and unjust people, I do not think it would be so farfetched, unfortunately. I also agree with Harris that people need closure. But I will take it one step further; people need to feel that everything is going to be ok, so they can go happily along with their daily lives. People do not want to be bothered with unpleasant situations. As for other times in American history so far, when people who have been wrongly accused, I think we have as a nation done our best to give the people a fair trial. There are always going to bad people who make unjust decisions, no matter how many laws we have.

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  34. Zoe C's post:

    I do not believe that history repeats itself. The author of the article Christina Harris gives examples of situations throughout history where groups that are different from the majority are discriminated against. I believe that it is part of human nature to fear that which is different. I don't think this is right or fair but it is a fact of being human. I hope that we learn from each experience but each generation has its own struggles in learning to accept that which is different then themselves. I do not think this is history repeating itself, but instead each generations struggle to except others that are different.

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  35. Michael K's post:

    I partially agree with Harris. I believe that history can repeat itself but just to a certain extent. What I mean by this is that the events that repeat are similar, not identical. I think that society does not pay close enough attention to our history. I think this contributes to some of the events that are repeated. As Caitlyn said, discrimination has happened in the past and Is still happening. Rosa parks was not treated equally because of the color of her skin and people today who are a different race are not treated right. I do agree that history repeats itself but I don't beleive that something similar to the Salem which trials could reoccur because society is not the same as it used to be.

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  36. Marcella T's post:

    I agree with Skyler. Although in our country we have many similar events to previous events, they are not repeated. In my opinion, events today that are related (or in others opinion repeated) are just backfires of previous events. The only event that I believe to be close to a repeat of history, is the Great Depression. Our country was able to overcome that. But as our economy continues to sink, it begins to look like repetition.

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  37. I am torn on this topic. I do feel that there have been many, many similarities throughout history. It is said that our economy now is not far from being like the depression. However, I wouldn't say that this is exactly a repeat. It really all depends on how you look at it. My idea of a repeat is nearly the exact events reoccuring. There are many similarities throughout history but there are always key differences that seperate them. I do agree with Harris that attack of 9/11 could be not unlike the Salem Trials. But there is reason for paranoia about the Muslims and Middle Easterns. 9/11 hurt many people and the people behind them did these things intentionally. The Salem Trials were an attack on helpless innocents. The accusations on them were lies made by enemies and were, to be simply put, unable to be proven by any means.

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  38. I agree with Harris i believe history does repeat its self in some ways. Such as all the wars that have occured in our nations life. The witch trials were people pointing fingers at others for things they have done themselves or said and put full blame on others and they get punished for it while the real person watches. 9/11 is similar in some was it was intentional like the witch trials but many people where killed and for what because our nation was at war with another nation. None of this has any reason to go on but in our lives and lives back then it all gets started with some kind of rumor or someone saying something they should not have.

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  39. I do not agree that history repeats its self, however one way or another it CAN repeat its self. For example all of the wars that have been going on forever in our world, depression used to be a huge deal back in the days and now people are saying from all the debt we are in that our nation is very close to being a depression. The examples of situations given by Christina Harris are mostly different from the majority that are discriminated against, I do not believe that this is in anyway true to human nature but fact is we all need to learn and accept our own struggles and what’s different about every single one of us. There will continue to be wars and battles that make’s it seem like history is on repeat and it will never end. I believe that the witch hunts will keep going on because people who are determined they are real will keep looking for them and learn about them more.

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  40. I do not fully agree with Harris because I believe that history repeats itself but not in a way that those participating can notice. Many people, when angry, cannot fully grasp who they should be angry at and really would like revenge or closure with people that have not taken any part in creating that anger. In Harris' editorial she states "A need for closure and a responsible party is something that human beings innately have instilled in them." Even if the party that is being blamed is not responsible, human beings still need that closure and it will be presented in different forms. I feel that people of this period of time are more aware of this natural occurrence and are keeping better control over what will possibly happen with the discrimination of Muslims due to 9/11.So, hopefully,things will not become as bad as the Holocaust or even the Salem Witch Trials.

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  41. i agree with Harris to a certain extent. i believe history does repeat itself in some ways, and others not so much. i dont think anything like the salem witchcraft trials will happen agin at all. people have learned more, become more intelligent on topics like these. on the other hand people are still discriminated against because of what they may believe (religion). but then again similar events have different causes in time, for example all the wars going on over time they all have a different cause. i hope things dont get too out of hands in the future to the point to where its like WW1 all over again.

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  42. Cheyanne C's post:

    Harris has a point that history can seem to repeat itself but I think in the same respect, it can seem just end results of a previous event. I do not think that another " witch hunt" will happen.

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  43. I, for one, believe history does not repeat itself. Yes there are very similar events that occur through history but none are identical to each other. the Great Depression for example, people are saying the Recession is simple history repeating itself again. but when you look at the facts its not. our crops are not being wiped out and people are not having to sell apples on the streets to pay mortgages. yes the economy may be down but people are still able to manage. the world is always changing. new technologies, medicines, and higher standards of living are constantly being brought into our lives. history shows that as new diseases arise, such as small pox and scarlet fever, it is deadly to almost everyone who comes in contact with it. in our new day in age very few people die off as newer more advanced diseases come about they do not kill off nearly as many people as before. therefore, history may have similar occurrences, it does not repeat itself.
    By: Aarin Anderson

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  44. Sam Q's post:

    I belive that hisory does repeat itself. You can see it in most American events. It is also seen on a much broader view in the world's history from patterns in way of life to reasons for war. It is most evident in war baecause it has always been over taratory, religious beliefs, or fighting for freedom. For example, all the revolutions in the world have always been the public fighting for freedom from their goverment. I believe that repatition in history is also seen with comparing viet nam to the iragi war. Many people argue why why went to both.

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  45. I do not believe history repeats itself.

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  46. i do think that history repeats itself just sometimes in different forms. for instantce the salem wich trial is just town girls spreading rumors about random people and this happens almost every day in this time period.everybody likes gossip and whos doing what so i do think that history may repeat itself sometimes.

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  47. I believe that history repeats itself. In history throughout eras we have created new ideas and outlooks on life yet we continue to act the same. In WWII the Nazis had the Holocaust in a mass extinction of the Jewish faith and now the Iraq War has evolved partly into Muslims vs. Christians which is completely immoral. So what someone doesn't share the same point of view about god; the same can be said about numerous things as well. For instance although many people say torture is bad shortly after it is known that a Japanese American was tortured during WWII we will torture the Iraq people and potentially others to further investigate their tactics. History is constantly repeating itself and I do not believe that it will ever stop.

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