What we fail to learn from history….

Before I left the world of teaching, I worked as a substitute in a private school in an affluent South Bay community. The class lesson for that day was historical and it dealt with the great Genghis Khan. One of the students, who I assume to be one of the brightest in the class asked, “Why are we studying him? What does this have to do with me?” I was shocked and tried to give a reasonable answer. Besides, it was part of the class assignment to study about the man. However, other students chimed in and while I knew it was a tactic the students used on substitutes, that one question stuck out in my mind then and even now….

“What does this have to do with me?”

By now the reader has probably heard the old saying, ‘those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.’. I believe those who are ignorant of history deserve all that and more when it is repeated. You’ve heard this question before whenever American slavery is mentioned. What should be surprising but unfortunately expected, is the indifference of history affecting our lives today. It would be as if the Revolution, Louisiana Purchase, War of 1812 and the Great Compromises never occurred. I would assume due to the fact Genghis Khan existed centuries before they did or in a country these young people, although well off, have never visited is their valid excuse for historical disconnect.

In our 21st Century fast paced technological world of Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, reading or learning about people and places way before their time means little to young people. There’s the History Channel for that ‘boring’ stuff. The History Channel cannot cover every aspect of American or even World History and while the Internet has an abundance of web sites with tons of content, our kids today aren’t encouraged to possess that desire of chronological knowledge we were taught growing up. Now that schools are becoming more corporate and less public, ‘educational’ organizations rewriting textbooks to fit their agendas and adults in the social or political spectrum not possessing a whim of historical information, it’s scary to feel good about the future when our children and our current generation disregards what has happened before.

Back to the ‘What does this have to do with me?” question. Everything that happens in history has a lot to do in our daily lives. If the reader took a closer look at our current economic, social and political status, they will find it has been the result of decisions made, wars fought, rights fought for and won (for the moment) and the true meaning of why ‘freedom is not free’. Our children shouldn’t be as ignorant as believing the world revolves around them, because it doesn’t and won’t should their indifference continues.

What gets me is that the bantering around of the word ‘Socialist’ when America is dealing with one of its former enemies, China who decades ago was a Communist country. “Remember the ‘better dead than red?” mantra we learned so long ago? Perhaps we should explain to our children why so many adults are walking as such these days. We boycotted Olympics and now we participate in them with countries we’ve abhorred for years. Our country, which would rather 'kill a commie for mommie' would rather make lucrative deals with the leaders of these 'evil empires' rather than focus on keeping jobs in America. Of course, our kids won’t know why because even we as adults fail to understand why ourselves.

“What does this have to do with me?”

The answer: Everything.

Charles this could not be more appropriate on a day like this when we have the President of the United States declaring the merits of education and simple minded folks trying to tear him down. Look at Cal...on any given day stroll through Sproul Plaza and what ethnicity/race dominates your sight? Asian. They may as well change the name from University of California to University of China. OK, that's my sarcasm for the day! Anyway, China practically owns America...wake up everybody!