We are in a loop. We are in a constant, never-ending loop. Since the beginning of time, this loop has existed, and since the beginning of time, we have been in it.

The loop I am describing, of course, is history. Over the thousands of years humanity has walked this earth, it has continued to live in this fantasy of progress. While it’s not ill-mannered or malicious, it is indeed a fantasy. We have grown to accept that history repeats itself, but instead just accepting it, we have now used it as an excuse for doing the same thing that has happened forever and ever ago.

While we have made small attempts to change this pattern, they have never been significant enough to create real change. Of course, there are positive things that happen, but not on a large enough scale to prove that the world is different from what it was in the past.

The other day I was scrolling through the Discover page on Instagram, and I came across a political cartoon drawn in the 1960s. In the cartoon, you can see a group of politicians sitting around a table labeled “War” surrounded by others labeled “Medicine,” “School” and “The People.” While the remaining groups are ignored, “War” is spoon-fed plates of money by the wealthy.

While looking at it, I couldn’t help but think that the fact it can be applied to today rather than just the ‘60s was sad. Just knowing that the people who have real power to make change don’t even care and haven’t cared for a long time made me realize that we as a society have done nothing to fix the looming problem ahead of us, one that is coming faster than anyone expected.

Former president Barack Obama recently said, “It is one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.”

While this statement is in response to how the current political climate is creating a rift between the people, it can also be applied to other points in our history. Just as Obama’s words are used to describe today, they can also describe most of the Civil War. Started in 1861, the Civil War is still considered to be the bloodiest conflict ever fought on American soil. According to history.com, 620,000 of the 2.4 million soldiers who fought in the war died. Because of those deaths, America is now the country that it is — but that does not mean it is better.

1861 was over a century and a half ago, and yet we still see ourselves experiencing the racism the Civil War began over and tried to stop. We see ourselves bickering over things that matter, but are then turned into insignificant ramblings because of the bickering. Humanity has not grown over time, but rather stayed dormant. We have remained the same in the ways that matter, mainly because of the lack of effort when it comes to knowing our own history.

If we want to thrive in the future, then we need to acknowledge our history. We have to break the loop. We can and we must.