Over the Christmas holiday I took my family to Pearl Harbor, shortly after the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack that plunged the United States into World War II. I figured that my daughter, now 6 and in first grade, should be old enough to get an up-close and personal experience with this key chapter in world history.
But I was soon consumed by a horrifying event.
While waiting for the boat to take us across the channel to the USS Arizona Memorial, I overheard a group of college students discussing history. Unable to help myself, I lingered to eavesdrop. And this is the gist of what I heard:
â??The World War II [sic] started with a bunch of countries on one side and a bunch of countries on the other side,â? a young man began, his companions listening with rapt attention as if it were a lecture, â??and we didnâ??t know which side we wanted to be on and we had a hard time picking sides. But when the Japanese attacked us, that made it easy to go against their side.â?
I didnâ??t know whether I should be enraged at or take pity on the young manâ??s ignorance. But what was most troubling was that he was the one dispensing â??knowledgeâ?! The others -- judging by the fact that no one disputed or challenged his account -- knew less than he did, even after apparently 12 years of compulsory education.
Read Full Article »