Due to atrocities in the past you are expected to reject X for whatever reasons. Due to magical thinking of a proposed otherworldly future this also condemns X. Even the present has various spectres that are spoiling everyone’s fun, we could call that Y. The magical thinking of the future can be either dystopian or heaven.
What we fail to register is the atrocities haven’t changed at any point. What I mean by that is there are past atrocities, present atrocities and future atrocities. Yet we want to reject X because of the past and the power they had. Is power at any time in history better or worse than now or the future? I am not proposing it is all the same circumstances but the same drive whenever however is power and it is always present.
People in the past were not vying for power with the same weapons but the human condition, the animal condition, so many factors were at play. In the Tao Te Ching the masters of the past were unfathomable. Today the masters of the present can be no different and what then of the future? Sure a lot of people are idiots myself included but humanity never really rises or falls. That isn’t to say anything is guaranteed. But to fashion everything as rejectable for crimes or hardship at any point is in itself short sighted.
You simply reject everything because…..pick your reasons. This is why institutions exist and people inevitably pen millions of theses. You can concoct endless stories and inevitably they are all correct. How can it all be correct? Because reality has holes all through it and it can’t be fathomed without going through an observer. The observer makes the connection but what about everything the observer can’t see? What about all of the observers who just came and went. All of the living material that is embodied that then turns to dust?
What I am getting at is perceptions are created to make you fear the past, the future and most importantly the present. You should never be allowed to feel at ease and everyone is your potential enemy. A real gotcha because no matter what you can spin a story on you inevitably reject a complex human condition and focus on anything other than the present moment or what power plays are in tow now. This isn’t to say that people don’t know but they let it off the hook because of a past and future that is always painted as much worse.
Also you’re still having a good time now which leads me to the obvious conclusion that so were all of the people in the past and so will all of the people in the future. Yet it isn’t, an always ‘good time’ it is threaded into a reality, perceptible and otherwise that can’t truly be understood as a whole. Yet for many people they can’t see the need to pick and choose what works from everything available, it was available in the past and will remain available. Otherwise why would everything currently exist if it didn’t have parts that were both useful and useless depending on bodies with access?
derekjamescarter 
What we fail to register is the atrocities haven’t changed at any point. Aristotle (384-322bc). The tyrant seeks to control his subjects, to entrench his position and he does this by bringing in foreigners to terrorize and weaken his population. He does this by discouraging free association between men of integrity and confidence. He does this by constructing systems of mass surviellance. He does this by empowering women and slaves to undermine men of strength, vitality and courage whom might dare to stand against the crowd. He must put to death men of spirit. The tyrant must endeavor to know what each of his subjects says or does and should employ spies like the female detectives at Syracuse and the eaves droppers whom Hiram was in the habit of sending to any place of resort or meeting. For the fear of informers prevents people from speaking their minds, and if they do, they are more easily found out. Another art of the tyrant is to sow quarrels amongst the citizens; friends should be embroiled with friends, the people with notables, and the rich with each other. Also, he should impovrish his citizens; he thus provides against a maintenance of a guard by the citizens and the people having being kept hard at work are prevented from conspiring. The Pyramids of Egypt afford an example of this policy. Another practice of tyrants is to multiply taxes after the manner of Dyonysius at Syracuse, who contrived that within five years his subjects would bring into the treasury their whole property. The Tyrant is also fond of making war in order that his subjects have something to do and be always in want of a leader.
I think that covers it ……… 🙂