What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history

Diane Bederman | July 16, 2026

Michelangelo, profeti, Jeremiah. Photo by Michelangelo – Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork, Public Domain, Wikipedia

What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

The prophet Jeremiah understood that a nation can appear strong while its moral foundations quietly crumble. His warning was timeless: No society can endure if it abandons justice, compassion, honesty, and responsibility.

I am sharing an excerpt from my book, Bullies of Woke and Their Assault on Mental Health, that sadly speaks to our failure to learn from history. It is from Bill Bowman the author of “Manning Johnson: American author and patriot.”

We have a lot to learn from the lessons taught by Manning Johnson (1908 – 1959) as shared by Bill Bowman.” Manning was a unique, intelligent and influential Black man from New York who was successfully recruited by the American Communist Party at a very young age. His job as a communist community organizer was to convince Black Americans that white America would continue to suppress them and that their lives would be so much better under a Socialist/Marxist/Communist government. He was very good at his job, and rose fast through the ranks of the Communist Party until he held one of the highest positions on their National Committee. There he was trained to disrupt cities and towns, organize mobs, incite riots, attack police to include how to strategically and tactfully “throw a brick and hide.”

Does all this sound familiar? It should.

Miraculously and mostly because of his Christian upbringing, Johnson had a revelation and realized the communist strategies, tactics and lies were not at all beneficial to Black Americans and only causing more hardship and suppression. He saw the deception and how the rejection of traditional American values and contempt of Christianity lowered the value of humanity and quality of life. This is when he turned government witness opposing Socialism and Communism.

Like Dr. King, Manning ultimately gave his life spreading the word, educating and warning Black Americans of the cruelty and diabolical strategies used by the angry liberal left in their attempt to hand over the U.S. to the Socialist and Communist Party. This was Johnson’s mission and passion until his untimely death in 1959.

Johnson testified before Congress several times about the Communist plot to take over America. His testimony is a matter of record. His testimony and the threats to our democracy are as relevant today as they were then. After he left the Communist Party in 1940, he authored an amazing book titled “Color, Communism and Common Sense.” This book could have been written yesterday. He details his experiences with communist leaders and the liberal left conspiracy and the sordid tactics they use. Ending democracy and capitalism will never bring us peace and prosperity. No one can name even one country where socialism has been successful.”

When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn”

Seems America has not learned. In the 21^st century the American left is promoting Democratic Socialism.

Democratic socialism is a diffuse political ideology that advocates for more public control over the economy and a more expansive role for government in providing social services. There are “many avenues” toward achieving the democratic goals of socialism, according to the DSA’s website, which notes that the national organization is itself not a political party, and uses a “variety of tactics” to try to empower workers and advocate for reform.

Perhaps at its most specific, democratic socialism today has come to be associated with a broad and expanding set of issues and priorities, including workers’ rights, immigration, progressive tax policies, universal healthcare and affordable housing, among others.

“Only socialism can solve decades of capitalist mismanagement in the US. Our newly elected leaders will fight for the working class — not for crumbs,” the DSA proclaimed in a social media post celebrating the string of primary election victories.

Here are some of the people already elected on this platform or running for office in 2026.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Dearborn, Michigan Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, and Dearborn Heights, Michigan Mayor Mo Baydoun, Katie Wilson, Mayor of Seattle, Washington, and Abdul El-Sayed running in the Democratic primary in the Michigan Senate race.

DSA, along with two other far-left groups, Justice Democrats (JD) and the Working Families Party (WFP) have endorsed these people. Read all about them.

And just as importantly, these organizations are promoting WOKE, DIE, CRT, Progressive history: a made-up history that is dividing America into the oppressed and the oppressors(just as Manning Johnson wrote in “Color, Communism and Common Sense”) denying and obfuscating the real facts of history that have been  preserved through the centuries in a multitude of documents.

Woke Progressive policies have left our youngest with a lack of knowledge of history. Parents and grandparents, it is time for you to wake up. To stand up to these bullies of woke. To speak up. Silence is collusion and your fear leads to the submission of your children and grandchildren to those who want to destroy the West by annihilating its history.

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey

From the Ethics of the Fathers: “Rabbi Tarfon used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it.”

Diane Weber Bederman