Doctor, my eyes have seen the years

eye

Why do we forget ?

How is it that we don't recall that someone has hurt us before? Or, we choose to forget. The boyfriend or girlfriend that stands you up or cheats on you. How is it, that we go back out with them? Forgive and forget seems to be the motto.

And, when they hurt us again? We curse beneath our breath. How did we let it happen to us again? Why do we let it happen to us again?

And our country seems to do the same. Remember the words "Forgive your enemies, but never forget them." Read between the lines: until you need something from them.

That is how it seems to be in the workforce also. You only get special privileges if you hold something back. Knowing what information to hold back from your managers so that they need you seems to get you more
special handling. I never did believe in that practice, and therein may lie my frustration.

And, in life. We make mistakes, but we don't seem to learn from them. We repeat the mistakes. Is it because the consequences weren't severe enough or even carried through? Did we get a slap on the wrist?

Does anyone recall the boy who was caned in Singapore? Well, he was eighteen. Some say that some of the foreign countries carry out much
harsher punishments than the United States. That the U.S. has become soft in it's crime control, and that weakens us.

What causes us to pause before we repeat mistakes that we have made in the past? Repeat offenders. Do some of us have a way of stuffing the memories of the price we paid deep into our subconscious? Two people can be punished the same way for the same crime, one may repeat
the behavior, while the other never takes the action again. Why? Is it in the upbringing? The genes? Is one capable of NOT learning from their mistakes. Is it their fault?

Can they help themselves? Can rehabilitation help them? Can some synthetic drug help them? Can therapy help them? Are they destined to end up in prison, violent relationships, dead-end jobs, leading a life of misery and loneliness for all time?

I know this. This is way too many questions for a Sunday afternoon.

Coming from the speakers: I Am by Neil Diamond