Article on "Witchcraft" in Scotland

[Karl R]

One only needs to look at the appalling antics of Hitler’s and Stalin’s regimes, the dreadful goings on in Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia and the desperate cruelty of ISIS and all that---and more---- happened in yours and mine’s( not sure about your age Karl) lifetime! I certainly question how much has been learnt from the past.

Getting into the nuance of what you just said. I agree that far too little has been learned by studying history. Much more could be learned from studying history ... if only people bothered to compare the painful lessons of the past to the present day. And if the information is never presented to people, then nobody can learn from it.

As an example, here's a quote from an article I just read:

"Nationalism is an intense form of patriotism or loyalty to one’s country. Nationalists exaggerate the value or importance of their homeland, placing its interests over and above those of other countries. Nationalism was a prominent force in [time period] and a significant cause of [event]. Many [people] – particularly citizens of the so-called Great Powers,
[list of great powers] – were convinced their nation occupied a position of cultural, economic and military supremacy. Politicians, diplomats and royals contributed to this mindset with inflammatory remarks and rhetoric. Nationalist sentiment was also prevalent in press reporting and popular culture. The pages of many newspapers were filled with nationalist rhetoric and provocative stories, such as rumours about rival nations and their evil intentions. Nationalist ideas could also be found in literature, music, theatre and art."

This paragraph could apply to many periods in history. It could apply to today. If you are actually curious what time frame, which countries, and what event the paragraph was referring to, here is the link to the article I quoted.

Tying this back to the "appalling antics" you referred to ... how many of those were connected to nationalism? (German nationalism, Khmer nationalism, Hutu nationalism, Tutsi nationalism, Bosnian nationalism, Serbian nationalism, Croat nationalism, religious nationalism,...)

Currently, there appear to be significant nationalist movements in most of the "great powers" of our time. Of the supporters of those movements, how many have studied the (historical) impact of nationalism? Or if we want to tie this back to the original article on witchcraft, how many have studied the (historical) impact of fear-mongering?

History provides us the ability to learn from other people's mistakes. But only if we choose to.