We are a people who do not want to keep much of the past in our heads. It is considered unhealthy in America to remember mistakes, neurotic to think about them, psychotic to dwell on them.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Let the past be content with itself, for man needs forgetfulness as well as memory.
When you begin to think about the past, you realize how much of it is lost to us.
It's so necessary to try and record the cultural memory of people. To set it down for generations to come. To better understand where we are headed. The problem is, a good portion of what we choose to remember is about willed forgetting. Which we all do, I believe, to protect ourselves from what is too difficult.
The past has an undeniable grip on everyone, except, perhaps, amnesiacs.
We can't let the past be forgotten.
It is true that as people, we tend to remember only the positive. With time, the grim details fade away, and as a species we survive on this notion. In our desire to gloss over the undeniable macabre parts of our American history, we forget. That amnesia manifests itself, especially when dealing with the plight of black men.
It is only education and understanding of the past that teaches us not to repeat history.
A nation that forgets its past can function no better than an individual with amnesia.
Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Nostalgia is eternal for Americans. We are often displaced from our origins and carry anxious memories of that lost past. We fear losing our bearings.