" If the ‘present’ was to sit in judgement of the ‘past’ there would be no future!!! :cool
Perthite06: welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards. I confess, I have no idea what you’re referring to. Some clue would be helpful, and would allow others to respond with some coherence. Are you referring to one of Cecil’s columns (the topics for this forum)?
That’s, like, deep.
Which past era are you talking about judging its past?
The " CLUE" was in the title… To be or not to be
If the present were to sit in judgement of the past there would be no future
This is a modern style of saying a verse from one of William Shakespears plays.
The point being of course that with all the problems in the world we should look back in history for the answers!!!
’ History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives’ 
While I agree in principle, I think in your case you’d be better off looking at the forum titles for the answers. At the very least it’s the right place to start.
For me I’m starting in the Straightdope search engine for answers.
“We have no Past, and we have no Future!”
“What about the Present?”
“It’s under the Tree.”
“I see that your tragedy has doomed your sense of humor as well.”
–The MAD parody “Star Blechh”
It’s only just out of reach; down the block, on a beach.
No it isn’t.
So, say, the solution to the problem of Iraq is to start a proper crusade?
Whoulda thunk it. GW WAS right, line up the trebuchets!
This is not obviously a comment on one of Cecil’s columns, so I’ll close this thread. If you’re looking for a debate (and honestly, I can’t tell), try the Great Debates forum.
bibliophage
moderator CCC