How can you live without knowing these things?

[valanhb]

So much for that Jeanie! I have to admit that my American History class in high school was absolutely a joke. The first semester was taught by a substitute English teacher, who spent almost the entire time on the Revolution. She spend all of one and a half weeks on the Civil War and mentioned Jefferson Davis once in passing.

Second semester was better, but he flew through the World Wars so we could spend 2 months on Viet Nam. Lucky for me, my father was a History major in college, so I learned most of what I knew from him.

It is really interesting, though, the difference in what has been taught in school in different places and different times. With the exception of my husband, almost everyone I know that is my age wasn't really taught jack about what really happened in history. Seriously, what I remember from my history classes about WW2 was that Europe was getting the snot beat out of it by Hitler, the Brits couldn't do it by themselves and so we went in with our boys and saved the day. Sad, isn't it?

Thank goodness for Discovery and History Channels! I've learned more about history by watching programs on my own than I ever did through all of my schooling. Sad thing is that my generation is generally not very educated about the past, unless we have taken it upon ourselves to do it.

 

[jeanie g.]

Heidi, Europe was in danger of falling. The point is, Hitler had a brilliantly evil plan and carried it out insidiously. No one was prepared! The way Germany had been treated after WWI had planted the seeds for WWII years before, and Hitler took advantage of the animosity.

I'm sure you read Orwell's 1984 and know how their brain washing worked. Perhaps the history books are not telling the whole story. Today the Japanese people are portrayed as electronic geniuses with a love of beauty, not the monsters portrayed in the movies of the WWII era! Black is white, and white is black--double think, double speak. And we thought that book was about Russia! The fall of communism will cause the image of the Russians to change in today's history books. Well, maybe our posterity will read an accurate picture!

 

[valanhb]

History changes with each generation of books, it seems. For a while the Holocaust wasn't even mentioned in the books, now the African and Italian fronts are barely mentioned while the Holocaust is the main thing taught. You are so right about how the Japanese are portrayed, or rather the changes in that portrayal. While the current view of them is probably correct for the present time, we should not forget what has happened in the past.

Hitler was truly an evil genius, and his real downfall was that he started to believe his own rhetoric that he could do no wrong militarily. He spread himself too thin while lead to his defeat.

In many ways, I see a real mirror image between Saddam Hussein and Hitler, and especially in the way that the UN wants to deal with him. Have we learned nothing from history?

 

[jeanie g.]

You might very well be right! Well you know what they say about those who don't learn from History.. I hope we're not doomed to repeat it. I'm sure that when Churchill warned the world about Hitler and then Stalin, most thought he was an alarmist. He had insight that most of us lack. I'm glad I don't have to make the decisions. It takes the wisdom of Solomon.

 

[gizmoe]

You said "I am" is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. But I heard a commedian say "I do" is the longest sentence.

Melinda

 

[jeanie g.]

That's cute! I didn't write the list, though. I just got it in an email.

 

[debby]

Originally posted by Yola
If somebody knows of a bloke that can lick his elbow can they give me his phone number please!?!

I'd like that number too, please!