A short holiday history lesson
Jerry Large’s recent article on our unfortunate habit of focusing on the immediate future and ignoring the past was well written [“Timeless lessons of the season,” NWThursday, Dec. 24].
It would be appropriate to give a talk on this to the state education authorities who seem always to focus on science, math, etc. to the exclusion of art, history, economics and politics.
History is the only way that we can put the present into perspective. Being ignorant of history, and the fact that our knowledge of history undergoes continual improvement, guarantees that we continue to think of ourselves as existing in a perpetually unique situation.
I am not demeaning math or science. I am trained in mathematics and find the current emphasis very ill-informed. Education must be balanced, and history is part of the balance.
I want to thank Large for his short and sweet summary of the past.
I also appreciated his comments on only heroizing those in uniform. We all make choices about our occupations, and I thank those who choose to work in public service, such as the police and fire.
But I also appreciate those who pick up the garbage, farm and fish to produce the food that I eat, and those who provide medical service. We unfortunately idolize the military, and ignore all those who die from poverty, failures in our health care, and others whose occupations are so dangerous.
— Dick Swenson, Walla Walla