History and Human Responsibility ¿ The Unbearable Weight of Freedom in a Dystopian World

"The present crisis is felt more acutely than previous crisis situations," observes Dutch security expert Marcel van Herpen, largely because human beings are now projecting responsibility into history on all fronts--past and future, in addition to the present. Learning from the past has become an imperative to safeguard the well-being of future generations by never repeating negative experiences, so much so that it demands an explanation of culpability into the past that burdens the present under a weight that does not properly belong to actors who did not commit the deeds of the past and have yet to decide their futures. In a time of crisis we face the accusations of history, however distant, and are subjected to the sound of its echoing ahead of us. But, Van Herpen asks, to what exactly (or to what extent) should we listen as we strive to respond to the challenges of present day? "Is it true that history is a teacher for our lives? And has it ever been? In crisis periods this questio