Well, in Germany, the Germans think so.  In the USA today, I’d have to say “not so much”.   My son’s recent visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland reminded me of our visit to the Dachau camp, about ten miles from Munich,  back in 2006.  Set in the small town of the same name, the Dachau camp is well preserved, well documented, and open to the public with frankness and honesty.   Buildings were preserved; guides were informative; the photographic record was displayed openly.    A visit to any of these camps is certainly a somber day’s walk, reminding us of the horrific events that took place on these grounds.

One might say that these monuments to the past should be torn down and forgotten, but the German people prefer to “own” their past, and to teach their past, warts and all,  to the children of Germany.  The nation’s credo seems to be what philosopher George Santayana posted above one of the Jewish huts at Auschwitz which reads, “those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

Last week, a statue of the 19th century Lewis & Clark expedition was removed in Charlottesville because some thought it portrayed the Indian guide, Sacajawea, in a negative or subservient position.   Sacajawea, of course, was the Indian guide who was instrumental in guiding that famous expedition which opened up the West.    Each time a statue comes down at the behest of some group of offended proglibocrats, I think back to Karl Marx’s contention that to build a new future, we need to destroy all traces of the past.

Would it not be better to use the difficult times of our nation’s history as educational tools, such that the horrors of slavery and wars are not repeated.   Should not the education of  new generations focus on historical honesty, the good and the bad, and not a concocted revisionist portrayal.  Would race relations, for instance, not be helped more by teaching the context of slavery worldwide  in the founding years of America, and the sacrifices made by so many to erase that terrible chapter, than by beating up our kids with critical race theory ?

I think that the Germans have wisely acknowledged their checkered historical past, and I’m a firm believer that their children are the better for that attitude.    Heaven help our kids with the current trend in education which teaches that we are a terrible nation with a terrible past, and that even today the separation of the races dominates everyday life ?               WHAT THE HECK !

In two weeks, God willing, our first grandchild will be born.   The excitement and anticipation is absolutely indescribable. Gender is known.  The child’s name has been declared. The nursery is set and ready.   The only unknown is who will be nominated to tell this bundle of joy that he/she will inherit a cool $100,000 of national debt at his/her first  breath.    It may as well be me, since I’m as guilty as anyone for sending a generation of vote buyers (of both political parties) to Congress.    When is the last time you ever heard a national political figure speak about the ballooning national debt, or of attempting to balance the federal budget.   It’s easy to spend someone else’s money, and I helped to let them do it.                          WHAT THE HECK !