Oddbean new post about | logout
 I really wish monuments were working as expected but it seems that young generations notice them only when they disagree with the message they are supposed to send and try to get rid of them. We are so inefficient in passing actual experience through the generations or even across the same generation living in different parts of the world. You can read as many history books as you wish, but you will never actually get what it was like to live during a specific event or under a specific regime until you actually live through something similar and appreciate it because of your direct experience. Just like the popularity of the socialist ideas in the West despite all of the warnings, maybe it is time for people there to play with fire and try to tame it.