Henry Ford Was Wrong

Sometime ago, P.T. Barnum came up with the infamous quote, "There's a sucker born every minute, and it takes two to take him."  With the passage of time, we've whittled that down to merely, "There's a sucker born every minute," due to the fact it no longer takes two to 'take' them.

The dumbing down of American began with the end of World War Two.  We figured that as long as we were on top, we'd just take it easy.  Things started creeping into the schools that weren't necessarily true, and those who were being slandered couldn't do much about it, as they'd been dead for decades.  Over the course of time, a good portion of our Founding Fathers have come to be forgotten, while in some history books, Michael Jackson gets more ink than George Washington.



Thomas Jefferson

 John F. Kennedy, an icon to many, appreciated history.  During a dinner where he hosted all the Nobel Prize winners at the White House, he stated, "There has not been this much intelligence in this room . . . since Jefferson dined alone."  No one has ever been recorded as arguing the statement.  Over the years, instead of his accomplishments, Jefferson seems to be noted more for his sex life than the fact that he expaned this nation and was one of the great geniuses.  The same goes for Benjamin Franklin.  With Dwight Eisenhower, it's a 'did he or didn't he' with Kay Sommersby.

What we seem to forget is the fact that were these not men of greatness, we wouldn't give a hoot about their personal lives.  But in delving into the possibilities of the 'dirt', we've forgotten what the men have done for this nation.  In this National Enquirer age, we tend to look for the bad in everyone - - after all, it's a juicier read - - and look at the things such as honor, character, and heroism as 'bland.'  In short, we've become lost.

We need to forget the National Enquier history education we've been given and start again.  Read up on these people who established our nation.  It makes for a fascinating read, and gives one a sense of not only awe, but thankfulness.

Henry Ford said, "History is bunk."  He forgot that he made history, so he disproved his statement.  History is a rich study of the past, and what we live in now is the history of tomorrow.