Those who have read this collection with any regularity will know that I am a history enthusiast. I enjoy looking back through time and finding past events that lend perspective to current events. In fact, as I have often attempted to point out, the past makes the crises of the present time seem, if not minor, at least understandable.

I firmly believe that our failure to recall (or understand) the history of our country is the primary factor in the confusion and despair that many people feel in modern times. Further, the negativity that many hold toward this nation, both here and abroad, is based in an ignorance of past events. For if one constantly highlights the tragedies of American history - treatment of natives, slavery, Watergate, et cetera - we lose sight of the grand victories our ancestors rightfully celebrated. We, ourselves, bear much of the blame for this gaping hole in our knowledge.

But, the media (print, internet and broadcast) with its daily and unrelenting barrages of "guilt trips" also shares the burden of our discontent. We have been conditioned to feel guilty. And, knowing this, we receive our daily ration of American faux pas from the mass media that feeds this disposition. Apparently, there are two rules for what items are popular with readers and viewers. First, "if it bleeds, it leads," is a truism that most are familiar with. The lesser known rule is: "If it calls up shame or blame or guilt, it fits." Blood tops guilt but guilt, in the same way, tops "feel good."

The American populace - at least the vanishing breed that claims white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant heritage - are culturally, spiritually and habitually bent on self-flagellation. It descends from Christian teachings like a thick fog and has, through the years, come to dominate our lives. "We" allowed (even caused to be necessary!) the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our decadence and, for this, we are unworthy of contentment. Christians have spent the last two millennia in an attempt to make amends. Of course, we never can in our eyes and spend our lives in guilt.

And it doesn’t end with our spiritual lives. Our all-pervasive shame cannot help but seep into our world view. We feel distinctly uneasy about global tragedies. When a tsumani kills thousands in the Far East, we somehow feel that if we had given more aid to this region, they could have been better prepared and forewarned. When there are (as there always are) atrocities in Africa with incessant tribal war, we believe the propagandists who denounce the United States for not intervening. When there is religious warfare and Balkanization in Middle Europe (as there has been for centuries) we readily believe that we are not only the causative factor but, as such, are duty-bound to take action. The myriad other straps with which we beat ourselves (urban violence, economic classicism, Middle East discord, global warming, et cetera) need not be enumerated here. You know what whips you personally use.

This perpetual remorse is nurtured by the media but is given root and branch by our yawning expanse of historical ignorance. In ignoring the historical context of contemporary events, we are easily guided along the path of national and personal shame. We, as a nation, are so indoctrinated with self-reproach and guilt that we watch the news at our own peril. If viewed, we are left steeped in a disquieting anxiety. We are not aware of exactly why we have these feelings but they are there, nonetheless. In my opinion, it is this free-floating and ill-defined cultural anxiety that causes much of America’s social ills. But that is merely my opinion.

Forgive this roundabout diatribe. The point of this solicitous rant is to bring up an article in USA Today that reports on a study from American Enterprise Institute. The study finds that "high schoolers still lack important historical and cultural underpinnings of ‘a complete education’". In specific findings:

Among 1,200 students surveyed:

43% knew the Civil War was fought between 1850 and 1900.

52% could identify the theme of 1984.

51% knew that the controversy surrounding Sen. Joseph McCarthy focused on communism.

In summary, students earned a C in history and an F in literature. These findings do not come as a surprise to this observer and, I suspect, do not shock many readers. I mentioned, some time back, my parents’ reactions to the "Jay Walking" segment of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They (as members of the over-70 crowd) are continually both amused and dismayed at the historical ignorance of the Americans displayed in this segment of one of their favorite shows. Fortunately, I do not view the pageant of foolishness as I see quite enough evidence of the malady in my daily life. I am persuaded that most of those who take the time to read this web log have their own, personal examples of cultural ignorance.

The connection I endeavor to make is merely that a lack of historical references enables and perpetuates generalized cultural anxiety. Specifically, when one has no anchor, one is easily agitated by every wave and every tide. A knowledge of the past allows perspective of the present. Without a framework based on the ebb and flow of the past, everything seems alien and threatening. With a firm grounding in history, one begins to understand that, while the world is no less tragic, it is - in a sense - familiar.

Much has been written about what has (rightfully?) been labeled "The Dumbest Generation." While I would not use that singularly unkind phrase, I do feel that encouragement to gain a better historical insight will produce a healthier view of current events. Further, as Santayana observed: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." History lends perspective but it also provides guidance. By knowing the consequences of actions taken in the past, we can often determine what might happen today.

Without the beacon of the past, today’s journeys are fraught with peril. And, after all, the definition of insanity is to do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results.