Those that do not know history - are going to get screwed... - Granite Grok

Those that do not know history – are going to get screwed…

$50 bill U.S. Grant

 From Powerline, this little story (sad, sad, sad):

I took the day off today because all of my brothers and my parents are in town for the weekend. This morning one of my brothers, his son and I went to our local gym to lift some weights. There was a young woman working at the desk; we thought we would have to pay a guest fee (we didn’t, as it turned out) and my brother offered a $50 bill.

Patterns matter – and nothing is generally available for free.  I’m not surprised at the offer, having had to pay such fees in the past on travel.  However, the money part is not really about the money – it’s about the person – and the lack of knowledge of such:

She declined, but on an impulse I held it up and asked whether she knew who was pictured on it. She looked at the picture and shook her head. "It’s Ulysses Grant," I said. "Do you know who he was?" She admitted a little apologetically that she had no idea. "You don’t recall ever hearing of him?" Nope.

So, what exactly do they teach in school these days? If not the Civil War, then what? It’s hard to believe that a country has much of a future, that doesn’t bother to teach its children about its past.

Indeed.  Ulysess S. Grant. This, folks, is one of the reasons why elections matter (as we have seen in Texas with their Board of Education).  Those in power get to decide what the history is – and taught to our children.  How many of us that grew up in the 50s and 60s would NOT have known the answer to that simple question?  Decorated Civil War General, President of the United States, he was the dude that Lincoln turned to and was one of the main men in determining the outcome of that War.

The question arises – if the Civil War is not being taught, are the principles behind it being taught or discussed?  And of greater concern, with the rise of Progressivism, are the ideals of what are known in toto as American Exceptionalism being taught (simplified: ruling by an elite class vs rugged individualism

When people are taught, so goes conventional wisdom, what counterfeit money is, they handle pretty much real money the vast majority of the time.  Knowing what it is, what should be in a given location, with a specific color, in a given font, and with a given "look and feel" allows one to instantiate ‘a pattern".  Thus, when something comes along that is NOT a pattern, it is easier to discern as a fake.

The same with our American History – how can one know what is a faulty philosophy, a faulty history, unless one is taught our own history and it is ingrained into our DNA?  Ideas count, and when our foundational ones are not, only badness can result when "off-pattern" ideas are floated.

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