“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” – George Bernard Shaw

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” - George Santayana

“What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles.” – George Wilhelm Hegel

“What we do about history matters. The often repeated saying that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them has a lot of truth in it. But what are 'the lessons of history'? The very attempt at definition furnishes ground for new conflicts. History is not a recipe book; past events are never replicated in the present in quite the same way. Historical events are infinitely variable and their interpretations are a constantly shifting process. There are no certainties to be found in the past.”

- Gerda Lerner

Seldom do we hear individuals of high power admitting they made mistakes. Hearing former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamera say “we were wrong” comes as a shock because people generally don’t like to acknowledge errors in judgment (especially politicians) and he comes from the generation of politicians who unwaveringly supported the conflict in Vietnam.
Errol Morris’ Fog of War is a warning to Americans and future generations to recognize the lessons learned by McNamera throughout his life as a policy maker.
The film is divided into eleven sections, or eleven rhetorical arguments. Each section begins with the text of McNamera’s lesson followed by elaboration that draws from his experience, mistakes and his own philosophy.
The intensity and sincerity of his speech as well as his own remorse for the lives lost during Vietnam convey a strong ethos that implores the audience to factor in his wisdom when making decisions in the future. His own rhetoric is emphasized by a dramatic score by Phillip Glass and montage of images and conversations between McNamera and Presidents that illustrate the confused trajectory of the conflict and its consequences on McNamera and the public.
Although the lessons in Fog of War are mostly illustrated by McNamera’s tenure as Secretary of Defense, they transcend the foreign and domestic conflicts and can be viewed pragmatic wisdom. The lessons are direct but abstract and open to interpretation. McNamera proves their validity through his own experience in war however every single one of them can be applied to the lives of others.
“To empathize with your enemy” can represent the acknowledgement of an opposing viewpoint in an argument. McNamera’s statement that “rationality will not save us” is similar to the idea that logic alone will not win an argument. In McNamera’s case, luck saved the United State from nuclear war, not three rational men of power. Similarly, ethos and pathos can prevail over logic in an argument.
To admit that “There’s something beyond one’s self” is to recognize the responsibility one has to society, to morals and to ethics beyond one’s own needs.
“Maximize efficiency,” “get the data,” and “be prepared to reexamine your reasoning” are all traits of responsible thinkers that can apply to everything from simple decisions in consumer spending or tremendous decisions to invade a foreign country.
Whether or not we learn from our mistakes is difficult to determine. As historian and author Gerda Lerner believes, no event in the present will ever mirror a past event for variables are constantly evolving. Essentially, we seldom make the same mistake twice. For example, I stubbed my toe on a chair two weeks ago walking from my Kitchen to my room. It was painful so I told myself to be more careful when walking barefoot (as if it was the first time it had happened). Earlier today I stubbed the same to on the leg of my piano as I stood up. Same accident, different circumstances, new mistake.
The nature of a mistake is unpredictable and is only realized once it is too late. There is often sufficient warning leading up to it however we often disregard it or fail to realize the clues.
My point is its easy to make mistakes but when we fail to factor in the wisdom of our predecessors and their mistakes, we run the risk of ignorance. We will never know the mistakes we have avoided only those that have been made but with an increased consciousness, we can minimize the damage and hopefully avoid them to begin with.
Errol attempts to heighten the awareness of his audience by encouraging them to factor in the lessons learned by Robert McNamera in their lives. Undoubtedly, people will forget and ignore McNamera’s words but those who are conscious of his wisdom will recognize circumstances that can be dealt with and possibly avoided,