Everything repeats

My high school history teacher used to scream, "Those who fail to know their history are doomed to repeat it". We had to analyze the similarities between Napoleon and Hitler. And that if Hitler had learned anything from Napoleon, he wouldn't have invaded Russia.

History repeats itself all the time. Madonna becomes Britney Spears, Michael Jordan becomes Lebron James. Michael Jackson becomes Justin Timberlake. Recently I read that  the percentages are extremely high for a teenage mother to be a grandmother in her thirties and maybe even a great grandmother by her early fifties. That's three generations of teenage pregnancies.

In Disney's movie, "The Lion King", there's a discussion between Mustafa, the dad, and Simba, the lion cub. Mustafa explains there's a circle of life that exists. I've used that term to explain how we are doomed to make the same mistakes as our parents unless we realize what mistakes they have made. And how to avoid them.

Although we can look at our individual actions compared to our parents, when looking at an entire generation, we do learn from our parents' generation as a whole. There is substantial studies that demonstrate society learns from one generation while making the same mistakes/advancements as another. Generationally we do the same as our great-great grandparents. The theory says that each generational cycle is approximately 20 years. For us to repeat, four generations have to pass. So every 80 years, is when we start doing the same things as our ancestors.

Approximately every 80 years, there is a major conflict for the United States. What happens in the US has and will always affect Canadians.

1939-1945 World War II
1861-1865 American Civil War
1775-1783 American Revolution

Imagine the start of a decade: A new technology was invented. There were only a few people who knew how to use it. The money supply doubled in just 8 years. Spending was high, worries were low. Confidence in Wall Street was also high. By the end of the decade, everyone took the new technology for granted. And the western world went into a recession. The year was 1929. The new technology was radio. This is eerily similar to the 2000's, with the internet gaining momentum. By the end of the decade, the collapse of the economy due to mortgage back securities mirrors 1929. Just 80 years after it happened the first time, it happened again.

In 1919, Major League Baseball was rocked by "The Black Sox" scandal in which the Chicago team threw the World Series in order to get paid by their mafia buddies. Almost 80 years later cheating again was identified as the problem but this time in the form of  performance enhancing drugs.

1840ish - invention of the telephone
1920ish - invention of radio
1995ish- invention of internet

I can go on, but you get my point.

No need to go to a psychic to know the future. Start studying your past.