It's odd what history classes teach you. Mainly because they end up teaching you to loathe the history of your own country, as they continue, year upon year, to cram a pre-processed pablum of concepts down the throats of unwilling and disinterested youth. I took countless years of American History, or, as it was often called, Civics, and I can't say that any of it stuck. Oh, I'm fairly knowledgeable about the interesting bits of American history, of course, mainly the parts where we got bored and decided to shoot at each other instead of foreigners, but the only things I can remember from Civics are Paul Revere (he was the guy with the horse. I think.) and the Electoral College (because heaven forbid we should let a raw count of the votes of the people elect our President).
I can't fathom the sheer amount of time that must have been wasted memorizing and forgetting the many Presidents; not interesting facts, even, just names, dates, and wether or not they got shot while in office. Clearly, not enough time was spent on important things which shape our world today, namely the fact that we've been cheerfully meddling in other countries' politics for as long as we've been able to get away with it, which adds up to nearly a century of gunboat diplomacy. Heck, we even whupped on Korea at one point - way back around the turn of the century. Er, the one before the current one, I mean.
But then, a lot of classes should be made more interesting. It's good for you, doing interesting things. But then, heaven forbid, people might learn something, and we can't have that.
Not that most other places are any better. But at least when our youth fail to learn things, it's because we're incompetant at educating them, as opposed to being competant, but deliberately leaving things out, like certain of our former enemies.
As an interesting side note, there's a game for the PC Engine (a mini-games console that never got beyond Japan) called 1943, where you fly a plucky little airplane against incoming hordes of fighters and bombers, 'Space Invaders' style, and... hrm. Well, that sure ain't an Allied carrier you're taking off from. But to each their own, I guess.
In other news, people in Seattle who AREN'T cashing in on the riot memorabilia fad currently churning on eBay should be ashamed. Why, a handful of rubber bullets, er, I mean pellets, can go for quite a substantial sum. And spent tear gas cannisters can fetch a bundle. Screw looting - picking up mere spent riot police gear could have earned you cold, hard cash, and legally, too. For shame! Where's your entrepreneurial spirit?
Tomorrow: The Unbearable Muffin-ness of Being.
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