A History of Lies

I watched the movie "Glory" for the first time yesterday. I support the making of another film with both Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. They could be detectives solving a murder mystery. Samuel L. Jackson could be the chief of police. Dave Chapelle would be the new recruit. George Clooney would be the murderer.
Best. Movie. Ever.

While watching "Glory" the character played by Matthew Broderick fights in the Battle of Antietam. I was getting caught up in the suspense, not knowing who would die, or, surprisingly, who would win. I had no idea who was going to win this battle. It's a little sad. I've been an American for 24 years and I have no idea about the bloodiest chapter of my nation's history.

Now before any one jumps to conclusions and calls me ignorant, stupid, and an uneducated swine, I would like everyone to know that I am a college educated individual. And that is where the really sad part comes in. I went to school for 17 years. Seventy percent of my life thus far has been spent on learning. Or has it?

I have taken, at the very least, three U.S History classes. One in High School, and two at the University I attended. And I don't know who wins the Battle of Antietam. In fact there is lots about the Civil War I don't know. I don't know how it ended. I know the Union won, but mainly because this nation is still intact and not divided into several smaller nations. I know it began by a firing on Ft. Sumter (at least I think so) but I don't know who held Ft. Sumter or who fired on it. And why were they firing? I didn't even know the course of the Battle of Gettysburg until I saw the movie Gettysburg. And I didn't know the outcome of Antietam until I saw "Glory". I know more about the Civil War from Hollywood, than I do from the education that I have worked most of my life for.

'How did this come to be?' you may ask. Well, It's simple really. Each of the classes I took went in depth into many areas of U.S. History. The Revolution, Reconstruction, World War I and II, The Great Depression, etc. But each time we came chronologically to the Civil War, the teacher/professor would say, "We don't have time to cover the Civil War. It's far too expansive and long to cover in one week." I guess at the time I should have stood up and said, "Can you at least tell me who started it?"

So there we have it. Both the U.S educational system, and my own pursuits of education have failed me terribly in the case of the Civil War. Eight year olds in China probably have a better idea of what happened in the American Civil War than I do. This system desperately needs to change. To say that something is "too big" to study may be one of the most absurd statements I've heard. Why not have high school classes specifically on the war? Why not drop some topics that may not be as interesting? Is Prohibition really that important? I don't think so. Prohibition: "The Government thought people were drinking too much, so the consumption of alcohol was outlawed. But all that happened was it was driven underground. Crime was rampant for a few years until it was legal again." The End. Show the kids some pictures of the time and you have about as much knowledge as anyone needs to ever have.

Too big to study goes right along the lines of another statement I've heard recently; Too big to fail. I wish our educational system was that way, but unfortunately it's failing perfectly well under its current status.

I'm not too broken up about not knowing about the Civil War. Education is easy to come by thanks to Wikipedia, and it's free. Besides if I read an untrue and unreferenced statement in Wikipedia, at least it's more accurate than what the U.S. Educational System tried to tell me: It's too big to study.