Recently I had an encounter with a Physical Therapist, a pleasant woman who was quite good at her job. To develop a bit of rapport with her, I mentioned that my father had also been a Physical Therapist—after being kicked out of medical school for being Jewish during the Second World War.
The PT said, “Whaa?” in disbelief. I had a hard time believing that an educated woman could be ignorant of the signature event of the 20th Century. So I mentioned my disappointment to another educated acquaintance. He also said, “Whaa?” in a stunned tone of voice.
Lately, in discussing how our three branches of government are supposed to work, I’ve heard a good deal of comment in the media about the ignorance of Civics and History among students and young adults. After all, how are we going to elect worthy leaders if we don't equip people with the tools to evaluate aspiring leaders, especially if they're clueless about the need to keep folks from shooting up synagogues?
So, not for the first time, this famous Santayana quote seems fitting: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it” That’s George Santayana, not Carlos.
