Why we must keep the Lincoln history alive

[LincolnMan]

It's happened more than once-I've come across adults who knew nothing about Lincoln. A recent college graduate once said to me about Lincoln: "Is that the guy on the penny?" I went to a local library called the "Abraham Lincoln Public Library." once inside, there were no visible images of Lincoln. I thought I might see a picture hanging on a wall or a bust of Lincoln on a shelf-but there was nothing. I asked the librarian: "Do you know the history of this library being named after Lincoln?" "Nope." End of library visit. It seems that people still know the name Abraham Lincoln, but they don't know anything beyond that. Our work is cut out for us. Teachers, what happened? The reasons why we must keep the history alive? 1) Each generation must learn it-or the knowledge doesn't get passed on; and 2) without the knowledge of the past-one cannot fully appreciate the present-and as the old maxim goes-might be doomed to repeat it. Your thoughts?

[Rob Wick]

Bill,

I will try to write something intelligent on this tomorrow. My mind has been too "Tarbellized" for one day.

Best
Rob

[LincolnMan]

As the Three Stooges would say: "Utter a few syllables!"

[Gene C]

Society seems to have a hard time appreciating history and events of over 100 years ago. To far removed, no longer relevant.

[BettyO]

That is one scary thing, Bill! Unfortunately, I think education wise, America places maybe a bit TOO much appreciation on science and math. Although these fields are totally relevant and of course are a MUST in today's society if we are to keep at the head of the field, I also feel that history and English are of just as much vital importance. If we do not know what has occurred in the past - how are we to prevent it from happening again? As the old adage goes, we must study the past to know where we're going in the future! English is of extreme importance in that in order to express ourselves in an intelligent and concise manner, we must have excellent speaking and writing skills. So many businesses, unfortunately seem to put nothing but emphasis on science and math. I have worked for men, who are engineers for a long period. Yes, they can design and they can build - but their speaking and writing skills are at a definite loss. I once worked for a man who had a PhD in Engineering, but I had to rewrite everything he wrote because his English grammar was basically on a third grade level - he spelled phonetically and his verbal skills were atrocious!

Yes, History and Engish are both vitally important -- I only wish those powers that be would realize that as well. History and English need to be taught as being of importance. It's a sad state of affairs when these subjects are dropped by the wayside and not utilized in the correct manner. That people today would NOT know who Lincoln was or even that a Civil War was fought on our own soil is inexcusable and says a great deal (or not enough) about our present educational system! Something is "broken" and definitely needs to be fixed!

[Jim Garrett]

Total agreement with Betty. I think the fundamentals of all need to be taught. I think that History and English are vital. Few of todays students can construct a sentence, let alone convey thoughts and emotion much above a basic level. The art of language is becoming a dinosaur, being replaced by bytes. English, Literature, and History, teaches, among other things......thought process and reasoning. I learned sine, cosine, tangent, etc. Now they are keys on a calculator. I hope William Faulkner, Winston Churchill or Abraham Lincoln are not subject to the same fate.......maybe they already are!

[Rob Wick]

Well, after a few hours sleep, I'm once again ready for action (as long as I get a cup of coffee too).

I listened to the Carl Sandburg radio biography last night and something that Dave Garroway said at the end made me think. He mentioned that long after that broadcast, people would remember Sandburg. I daresay, if you went up to 100 people on the street of any city in America and ask who Carl Sandburg was, you MIGHT get three or four who do. Our society is generally resistant to historical knowledge, which seems ironic given that history books sell so well. As someone who has loved history from the earliest age, I find it incomprehensible that people don't share the same love of it at that same level of detail that I do, but I guess just about everyone can say that about a particular field.

Where it really becomes a problem, though, is in our current life. Without a firm grasp of historical knowledge, people are capable of being logrolled by others who count on their lack of historical knowledge. Whether one is a liberal or a conservative makes no difference here. If you have a firm grasp of the past, you can tell someone "hold on just one minute, you're not telling the whole story." But when more people watch American Idol rather than presidential debates, we pretty well get the government we deserve.

I remember talking with a niece who is far sharper than her poor uncle will ever be (and who will actually make more money too). She told me that her high school history teacher skipped over BOTH the American Revolution and the Civil War because he said "you already know all that stuff." So I asked her "who was John Wilkes Booth?" She looked at me like I had asked her to recite the Phoneician alphabet backwards. She had no idea. I told her, "you don't know the guy that your uncle was on national television talking about?" She shook her head no.

Best
Rob

[L Verge]

Everyone's thoughts are so correct. I just got through complaining to some of my staff this past week how ashamed I was of the American media. Neil Armstrong's death brought very little attention, at least in the Washington area. When Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Chuck Brown, etc. have died, we have listened over and over again to broadcasts that just repeat themselves. I am a fan of those musicians too, but shouldn't we have spent a little time memorializing a true American hero who had the courage to go through training as an astronaut and then set out for and step down on the moon?

[LincolnMan]

Laurie: Ditto on your comments about Neil Armstrong getting hardly any attention from the media. I must admit that I'm a "channel surfer" when it comes to watching TV (aren't all guys like that?). The reason I do that is because there is so much garbage on TV. I couldn't care less really about celebrities. If there is something on the History Channel or A & E that is interesting, I'll watch it-otherwise I'm done. I don't even know 99.9% of today's media stars-and don't feel I'm missing anything. Oh, I also like Turner Classic Movies. I saw Casablanca again the other night-love the old black & white movies!

[BettyO]

I'm the very same as you guys! I could NOT tell who was who nowadays as far as celebrities are concerned - and I do not care, either!

When someone with the greatness of Neil Armstrong dies and is little noticed - it hurts! It hurts the moral fiber of this country as well as each and every one of us. Where would we be in the space race today if Neil Armstrong had NOT been the first on the moon? Yet, we give more attention to souped up, over paid celebrities than to actual heroes? Sad!

I watch very little television aside from the news (and yes, the Republican Convention the other night - enjoyed every minute!) I detest "American Idol", "America's Got Talent" (Really?! Where?!?) any of that "reality" garbage - but will watch History Channel, PBS and any other history oriented show/special. Can't wait for the National Geo Channel docu-drama in February... and occasionally I DO watch Turner Classic Movies - Bill, I LOVE old Black and White movies!

The point in fact is that in order to stay relevant - we MUST keep history alive - a people who have no history have no future IMO....

[LincolnMan]

Betty: You just made my day! Or to put it another way-in my best Bogey voice: "Here's looking at you, kid."

[LincolnMan]

Didn't know who Hitler was? Now that's really scary!

[L Verge]

As scary as the movement in some quarters to deny that The Holocaust even existed. With no background in history, will our future generations not know about such evil as this - or the good parts like the Berlin Airlift?

[BettyO]

Agreed - or the wonder, faith and beauty of Ann Frank and her strength and ability to still see good and beauty in a world gone mad.... How many today even KNOW who Ann Frank was? Yes, history is extremely relevant because it shows us who were the strong, the faithful - those whose lives should not be forgotten and who are worth remembering!

[HerbS]

History is the key to past and the door to the future!!!---You have to know where you came from in order to know where you are going!!!