We’ve all heard the adage: "Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it." The statement is true, even if history is not actually a unit of time, but what occurs during a given period. Thus, what we repeat is not history — an ongoing event surely — but the mistakes or successes of the past.

From virtually any scholarly tome discussing virtually any time, parallels can be drawn.

Private use of public lands in the present era makes for a suprisingly easy, if imperfect, comparison to feudalism. Recall that in feudal societies, nobles who held land from a ruler often came to view it as their own, and thus ran afoul of the monarch who was considered the "rightful" owner.

Today, those ranchers who hold grazing permits from the federal government have become so accustomed to using public land that they are surprised when Uncle Sam insists — rightly or wrongly— they do not own that land.

Recent tramplings of the Fourth Amendment also show a failure to benefit from the mistakes of the past. Basing full vehicle searches on no more probable cause than a flimsy traffic violation, absent of any suspicious behavior, make it clear that some have failed to learn from the insanity of the Inquisition. A questionable search is a far cry from torture, but the apparent governing concept — that the action is justified because the suspect must have something to hide — is uncomfortably similar.

Failure to learn is apparent in even the innocuous. Current tabloids can be compared on one level to Procopius’ Secret History of Byzantium (sixth century AD).

Many have the sense to laugh off most information found in tabloids. Yet, the fact that a pseudo history like Procopius’ — which among other gems declared that Empress Theodora was a demon with an insatiable sex drive — was later taken seriously is a little disturbing. We can only pray that future researchers will have learned that the gloss of time does not add legitimacy to inflated claims, bad information and personal hatred.

History takes a lot of flak.

Much attention is focused on our mistakes, but progress is the flip side of that coin. If not for the trial and error of others, for the baby steps of improvement amid confusion, would we have those things we value?

If not for the protest of ranchers and other land users, from property owners to environmentalists, governments and corporations might well run roughshod over the property rights of all. Remember this before mocking or scapegoating one group or the other.

If not for the voices and actions of women from Hildegarde of Bingen, to Christine de Pisan, to Abigail Adams, the "fairer sex" might be living in a different world. These women were not "feminists" in the modern sense of the word, yet despite the limitations of the times they lived in, they gained much respect for women on the whole. Their achievements helped convince those in power that yes, women are indeed full human beings who ought to be accorded full rights.

If not for disgruntled English lords, America itself might not be quite what it is today. The U.S. Constitution can trace its roots back in part to the Magna Carta of 1215. Granted, this document is not terribly suggestive of widescale personal freedom, but limiting the power of a king who was fond of saying: "My mouth is law" was surely a step in the right direction.