--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These things happen. And we say to…" description: "\"“These things happen. And we say to ourselves, “Never again.” And a hundred years pass. And they happen. Again.”\" — Qntm" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/qntm-152483_collective-memory_these-things-happen-and-we-say-to-oursel_134449.jpg" --- # These things happen. And we say to ourselves, “Never… ![“These things happen. And we say to ourselves, “Never again.” And a hundred years pass. And they happen. Again.” quote by Qntm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/qntm-152483_collective-memory_these-things-happen-and-we-say-to-oursel_134449.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/qntm-152483_collective-memory_these-things-happen-and-we-say-to-oursel_134449.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/qntm-152483_collective-memory_these-things-happen-and-we-say-to-oursel_134449.jpg) > ““These things happen. And we say to ourselves, “Never again.” And a hundred years pass. And they happen. Again.”” Qntm ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human history repeats tragedies, and despite vows of “never again,” similar events recur over centuries. **In simple terms:** History repeats itself despite promises. Key Takeaway Learn from past mistakes to break cycles. Themes history repetition human nature war memory Mood reflective serious determined Type essay philosophical social-commentary When to use this quote - political discourse - education - activism Key Concepts cycles inevitability collective memory social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What lessons from past wars can prevent future ones? - How can societies truly remember? A Different Perspective Cycles may be broken with intentional action; not all repeats are identical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collective memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-memory/) [Cycles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cycles/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Inevitability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitability/) [Social-commentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-commentary/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I refuse to say anything beyond five years because I don't think we can see much beyond five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/i-refuse-to-say-anything-beyond-five-years-because-i-don-t-think-we/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [Teenager post 8652 how old is your baby? 36 months. WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SAY 3 YEARS OLD?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/teenager-post-8652-how-old-is-your-baby-36-months-why-can-t-you-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I heard someone say once that the years from fifteen to nineteen are the best years in a girl's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/i-heard-someone-say-once-that-the-years-from-fifteen-to-nineteen-are/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [My retirement date, every time you ask me that, I'm going to say five years. I don't want to retire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dimon/my-retirement-date-every-time-you-ask-me-that-i-m-going-to-say-five/) [Jamie Dimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dimon/) > [I heard someone once say that the years from fifteen to nineteen are the best years in a girl's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-heard-someone-once-say-that-the-years-from-fifteen-to-nineteen-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then he almost but didn't say the two sentence he'd been meaning to say for years: part of me is made of glass, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/then-he-almost-but-didn-t-say-the-two-sentence-he-d-been-meaning-to/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I have a career now, and I have to say, five years ago I didn't. I'm 50, and you never know what works, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-sachs/i-have-a-career-now-and-i-have-to-say-five-years-ago-i-didn-t-i-m-50/) [Ira Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-sachs/) > [“All I can say is, three more years then I am out of here. I don't know where I'll end up, but I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-renee-herbsman/all-i-can-say-is-three-more-years-then-i-am-out-of-here-i-don-t-know/) Cheryl Renee Herbsman > [Me: How old is your baby? Woman: 36 months. Me: Why can't you just say 3 years old!?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-how-old-is-your-baby-woman-36-months-me-why-can-t-you-just-say-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My Dad always used to say, " The first hundred years are the hardest ! After that it's a piece of cake ! ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-lee/my-dad-always-used-to-say-the-first-hundred-years-are-the-hardest/) Harold Lee > [I hate when people say 'years young'...it just doesn't sound right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilia/i-hate-when-people-say-years-young-it-just-doesn-t-sound-right/) [Camilia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilia/) > [There were two forests for every one you entered. There was the one you walked in, the physical echo, and then there was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/there-were-two-forests-for-every-one-you-entered-there-was-the-one/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [“Trains tap into some deep American collective memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-frank/trains-tap-into-some-deep-american-collective-memory/) Dana Frank > [In some ways more painful is the fact that their experience appears to be fading from the collective memory of humankind. Having never experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadatoshi-akiba/in-some-ways-more-painful-is-the-fact-that-their-experience-appears/) Tadatoshi Akiba > [It is true that one of the first acts of tyrants is to erase history, to wipe out the recorded memory of a people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/it-is-true-that-one-of-the-first-acts-of-tyrants-is-to-erase-history/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) ## More Collective memory quotes > [It is true that one of the first acts of tyrants is to erase history, to wipe out the recorded memory of a people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/it-is-true-that-one-of-the-first-acts-of-tyrants-is-to-erase-history/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [In some ways more painful is the fact that their experience appears to be fading from the collective memory of humankind. Having never experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadatoshi-akiba/in-some-ways-more-painful-is-the-fact-that-their-experience-appears/) Tadatoshi Akiba > [“Trains tap into some deep American collective memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-frank/trains-tap-into-some-deep-american-collective-memory/) Dana Frank > [There were two forests for every one you entered. 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And time after time mankind must learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/time-after-time-mankind-is-driven-against-the-rocks-of-the-horrid/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [One can say that the city itself is the collective memory of its people, and like memory it is associated with objects and places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-rossi/one-can-say-that-the-city-itself-is-the-collective-memory-of-its/) Aldo Rossi > [“History is complex, with levels of detail; it must be taught and may not be known by all members of the group. Collective memory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-griswold/history-is-complex-with-levels-of-detail-it-must-be-taught-and-may/) [Wendy Griswold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-griswold/) > [“If you don't recognize your own crimes, there's no impediment to continuing them. 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And history is our collective memory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/our-memory-is-made-up-of-our-individual-memories-and-our-collective/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Browse all 34 Collective memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“These things happen. And we say to ourselves, “Never again.” And a hundred years pass. And they happen. 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