7/21/2004 10:39:10 AM|||Sarah|||

I am saddened by the lack of knowledge that people have about history.  A recent study revealed that nearly 40% of Americans in their 20s don't know who our allies were in World War II.  I just don't get that.  Everything we do today is tied to events of the past. 

I recently had a conversation with someone who argued that all wars are about money.  He mentioned that we went into Vietnam simply because we had loaned the South Vietnamese money and wanted to make sure we got it back.  I replied, "OK, how do you explain the Korean War, which, like Vietnam, was fought on the premise of the domino theory and the Truman Doctrine."  Here's his response ... and, please, brace yourself: "What was that?  I haven't heard of that war."  And, the kicker is, he wasn't kidding.  I understand that Korea (unfortunately) is the forgotten war, but not being aware of its existence is a bit extreme.  He is a high school and college graduate, and simply a citizen of this country (which should be enough reason to know our history), who did not know about a major war of this century.  Scary.

|||109042483081138466|||Doomed to Repeat