Are we losing touch with History?

D-Day is also my son’s birthday, so I always make a point to talk to him about the meaning of the day. He’s only six, so I can only go into so much detail about it. We go to Fleet Week every Memorial Day, and it’s an opportunity to talk to him about what soldiers and sailors and Marines actually do. He’s met friends of mine who served and I think it’s important for him to learn that people in the armed forces aren’t superheroes like he sees in the movies—they’re regular people who choose to do an extraordinary thing.

Making sure that kids know what Memorial Day or D-Day or Pearl Harbor Day is about is not unlike making sure that kids remember that Christmas isn’t just about presents. It’s really up to the parents and family to make sure that the holiday is remembered in the way that it was meant to. If we don’t remind our kids that Memorial Day isn’t just the day the pool opens, who do we expect is going to?

All of this is my way of saying that as history advances, other historical events are going to move to the forefront and push other, older events to the background. It’s up to parents to teach their kids about the historical significance of certain days.

Do you remind your children about the "Great War" on November 11? Or the end of slavery on June 19?

My point is that while I agree with the idea that we need to keep historical perspectives alive, I also know that as we move further and further in time away from specific events, they begin to fade in significance, as the living participants pass on.  Believe me, as a jew who grew up recalling each year the end of our enslavement to the egytians, and recalling all the other people who tried to eliminate us as a people, that I get the idea of rememberence.  But you really can get overwhelmed with all the specific events if you try to recall them all.  Better (IMHO) to recall more generally the ideas of how freedoms are gained and maintained by those who went before us, along with attempting to make more real the ideals upon which the country was founded (and has yet to fully achieve).

My Dad's birthday was June sixth.  He was a 27 y/o sergeant in the army that went in on the second wave at Omaha beach.  Probably never thought he would see another birthday.  I just can't imagine.

Yes we also recognize Nov. 11th.   In my neck of the woods "Juneteenth" was a BIG thing until MLK day was started.  The older folks still celebrate Juneteenth.

I agree 100% that we should honor the people who served for our benefit and agree we ARE doomed to relive horrors with the current President failing our country in terms of our foreign policy.

specifics please...  Which horrors are we doomed to relive?  Which actions by our President would cause us to relive those horrors?

I agree 100% 

I feel stupid for even taking the bait...