Essay on History Repeats Itself

George Santayana’s sentiment that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat means that people who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are going to repeat the same mistakes. The phase is a big one because it is accurate, and if the past -is driven by human nature- is ugly; then this saying ought to guide public and private policy.

After Fulgencio Batista’s brutal secret police regime and leading worship, Cuban revolutionaries allowed their revolutionary Leader-Fidel Castro-to seize power. Batista acquired power through a bloodless military coup. He was a brutal dictator controlling the university, the press, and congress. He also embezzled a considerable sum from the soaring economy. Fidel Castro and Fulgencio Batista had similarities in Cuban history. First, at the start of each man’s political career, he overthrew his predecessor using some militant force. Batista staged a coup with military backing while Castro was a leader in Cuban Revolution. Both established dictatorship, repression, and corruption in their reign. However, both had differences in their power. Batista used nationalist excuses and rhetoric to justify his rule. At the same time, Castro turned communist after being rejected by the U.S. Again, under Bastia, the economy and agriculture functioned. There was no hunger, while under Castro, the economy and agriculture declined, and Cuba became a third-world country. Castro and his allies were committed to social and economic reform, and they set out on a course to consolidate control over state power. (Prevost, Gary 2007 ). Fidel Castro forgets the reforms after getting power.

Spanish Flu pandemic hit the world a century ago and caused millions of victims. The long-term effects of the Flu went beyond the immediate dimorphic losses. COVID-19 pandemic also hit the world in 2020(Aassve et al,2021). The disease caused several deaths. It also led to a decline in the world economy. There are similarities between an influenza virus and COVID 19. . They have similar symptoms like cough, runny nose, and sore throat. They also spread in a similar way by droplets and aerosols when an infected person coughs, sneezes, and speaks. However, both diseases have differences which include their treatments and their vaccines. Treatment options for C0VID 19 include oxygen, corticosteroids, and IL6 receptor blockers and ventilators. For Influenza, antiviral drugs reduce complications and death. Vaccines for both diseases are different. Vaccines for COVID 19 do not protect against Flu, and the flu vaccine does not protect against COVID-19. (Aassve et al.,2021).

Corruption in Kenya is currently high therefore making the economy of the country decline. President Mwai Kibaki had promised to end his predecessor’s oppressive and corrupt rule. People voted for Kibaki overwhelmingly, but after one and half years of his election, Anglo-leasing dishonest scandal emerged, and Kibaki failed to prosecute the ministers involved. It marked the end of anti-corruption. More than n 41 billion was lost to the state in 1979 through failure to collect revenue. Kenya’s National Social Security Fund, which lost about Ks1.63m over a housing project. The contractor completed 24 percent of the units but was paid 90 percent of the contract sum before abandoning the project altogether (Holman et al. l 2002). The economy of the country drastically declined when Uhuru Kenyatta won the elections. Although his promise to fight corruption, many scandals have seen the country’s economy drop. This era is no different from Moi’s. Uhuru’s promises during the campaign period were seen as a starting point to end corruption, but unfortunately, he forgets all these after winning. However, there are similarities and differences between the era of Daniel Moi and Uhuru Kenyatta as presidents of Kenya.

There was diplomacy when the U.S. military went to Iran in 1943-1978. The main aim was for the U.S. to give aid to Iran country. The source of technical assistance on workforce problems was the United States financial aid (ricks 2007). During this period, most of the U.S. military lost their lives while on duty. United States Military had supported the Federal Government of Somalia in counter-terrorism despite their military killed in Iran when they were giving aid to Iran. Many U.S. militaries in Somalia lost their lives again while on duty. The similarity between the United States military while in Iran and Somalia is that some servicemen lost their lives while on duty to serve the different nations. Again, their government is the one that gave the order to visit the two countries. Their differences are that the Us military went to Iran to aid economic recovery, for example, donating relief food to the poor. Still, in Somalia, they were on duty to counter Al-Shahab, a threat to security.

Work Cited

Aassve, Arnstein, et al. “Epidemics and trust: the case of the Spanish flu.” Health economics 30.4 (2021): 840-857.

Holman, Michel, Michela and Wrong(2002)Corruption in Kenya blamed for its economic decline retrieved on 4 October 2021 from https://www.proquest.com/docview/249333642/fulltext/C8A754C7AE1B4434PQ/12?accountid=45049

Prevost, Gary. “Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution.” Headwaters 24.1 (2007): 19-33.

Thomas M., Ricks. U.S. military missions to Iran,1943-1978. Retrieved on 4 October 2021 from

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/00210867908701554?scroll=top&needAccess=true