Facts Matter
@DeborahDiane (40056)
Laguna Woods, California
December 28, 2018 7:53pm CST
I didn't think I would write another post until the beginning of next year, but today I was shocked to the core by the following post on Twitter:
*********
"Brian Krassenstein
@krassenstein
When I saw that 30% of Americans don't believe in the holocaust, I finally began to realize why 30-40% of Americans support Trump and consistently watch Fox News.
FACTS matter. When you ignore facts you are easily persuaded into following liars.
America is better than this!"
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This is astonishing! In our extreme efforts as Americans to protect our children from sad news, we are not teaching them basic facts about history. The Holocaust is one of those historical facts which must be discussed whether we like the reality or not.
My own father fought in World War II. I am sharing his photo, above, when he was honored for his service during an Honor Flight to Washington, DC. He always shared many stories about the things he saw while he was in the Navy.
We owe it to our children to pass on facts. Facts do matter.
When my children were growing up, we watched movies and talked about topics like World War II, the Holocaust, the assassination of President Kennedy, and even other, more local sad events, like the divorce or death of their friends' parents. It never occurred to me not to tell them about these things. My parents took me to funerals and sad movies from the time I was very young. I came to accept that there were both sad and happy events in the world, and it was OK.
However, I know other parents who chose to avoid discussing "ugly facts" with their children. Now, we have adults who doubt these things even happened. Pretending these things did not happen is an insult to those who lost their lives or family members and is almost as bad a tragedy, to me, as some of the events which happened in the past.
What about you? Do you think facts matter? Do you think children should be told about bad or sad events?
14 people like this
15 responses
@RasmaSandra (73473)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
29 Dec 18
Facts matter greatly but this has always been so it is simply called ignorance. When my parents finally made it to NYC by ship after escaping their homeland, after going through the DP Camps in Germany, after surviving WW II they talked to Americans and a great many of them who heard about the horror and militia coming to take people away to Siberia asked one simple question Why did you not call the police? My goodness! That militia was the police and they were really bad news.
5 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Dec 18
@RasmaSandra - I think the reaction your parents got was a reflection of the fact that many people avoid explaining things in too much detail to their children. As a result, they do not understand what it means to live in a police state, where you cannot trust the police. I'm glad your parents arrived here safely!
3 people like this
@1creekgirl (40534)
• United States
29 Dec 18
Children need to be taught historical facts by their parents and their teachers. But I highly resent Brian Krassenstein's slander of conservatives. I voted for President Trump, watch Fox news, and amazingly, know the Holocaust actually happened.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Dec 18
@1creekgirl - Yes, I agree he was being harsh towards conservatives and I agree with you that parents and teachers should be sure students understand history, both the good and the bad. Understanding that the Holocaust happened is more important than memorizing lists of which countries were part of the Allies and which were part of the Axis, which is the focus of way too many teachers.
I respect the right of people to watch any news channel they want. Sadly, a large number of young Americans do not watch any news at all, on any cable channel or major network.
I stopped watching Fox News because of their extreme partisanship. (I don't watch any cable news for the same reason). I only watch the news on major networks, now, which is actually the news watched by most Americans. (2.2 million viewers on Fox vs. between 7 million and 8 million viewers each for ABC, CBS and NBC). Personally, I prefer the more well-rounded, less partisan news on a wide variety of topics, rather than any of the cable channels which seem to focus primarily on politics, politics, politics! LOL However, I understand there is still a market for people who prefer the more partisan political news on Fox and CNN.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@Berniezeitler - Thank you very much for your illuminating comment. There is always more information to be learned. Unfortunately, a large part of the US population are not well-informed.
Personally, I believe that the cable news networks do a particularly poor job of informing their viewers. All the things you mentioned above were covered by ABC, including the fact that the parents refused further treatment (because they were fearful that a sick child would be used as a reason to send them and their children back to their home country).
I agree that everything is not covered by every major network about every story. I have just found that the cable news channels leave out a surprisingly large amount of information, but apparently you feel you get all the news you want, with the particular bias you prefer, from the channel you watch and, of course, you are free to watch whatever you want.
As for teachers, they are very limited on what they are allowed to teach their students, both because they have to cover everything about each war in just a few weeks, and because parents often object to their children being told gruesome facts. As a result, we are raising children with very limited understanding of history.
I was just so shocked to read that studies show a large portion of the population in both the US and Europe do not believe the Holocaust ever happened. Whatever you deem the cause of that, I think it is an alarming statistic.
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@Berniezeitler - I guess we will just have to agree to disagree, Bernie ... or not. I do not know of a single liberal Democrat who denies the Holocaust, only neo-Nazis and white supremacists who tend to be part of the new, more extreme GOP. And, I say this as someone who has NEVER been a part of the Democratic party and who, in the past, has voted for many Republicans. I just cannot belong to a party which now embraces these racists who refuse to believe in the Holocaust, or who think it was a great idea. I prefer not to belong to any party at all.
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
29 Dec 18
We must talk about bad and sad events to young people to avoid that those facts happen again. Denying the holocaust is a horrible fact, I could even wish to those who deny that something similar happens to them. I know it's a bad thinking, but this is what they deserve.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
30 Dec 18
@DeborahDiane The mistakes of the past should help to avoid to repeat the same in the future.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@LadyDuck - Let us hope that our youth learn enough history to avoid past mistakes. Sadly, I do not think they are. We try to hard to protect our children from the ugly truth which would protect them from repeating those past mistakes.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@LadyDuck - I agree that we must talk about bad and sad events with young people. The holocaust was horrible and, whether we wish it to happen or not, if our youth do not learn about it, that lack of knowledge makes it more like to happen again!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@DianneN - I agree that there is a lot of ignorance in the world. I believe that there should be penalties from the FCC when fake news stories are knowingly spread on television, radio or social media. I also believe that TV, radio and social media have a duty to educate their viewers and readers, so they understand the basic background facts about any story. The bias and lies that are spread today are very destructive to the fabric of our society.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
29 Dec 18
I agree totally. Children can be shielded too much I think and it doesn't help them at all to deal with things when they reach adulthood. Children can also be exposed too much in other ways, ending up with all sorts of ideas about what is acceptable behaviour and what is not.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 Jan 19
@JudyEv - Yes, it does seem like the whole world is going crazy. I think it is better just to teach children to accept other people, even when they seem "different" in some way, and to not bully other people. As they get older, they can be taught some of the things that may make people seem different, with the continued emphasize on how everyone is unique and we should never be mean to someone else because of that uniqueness.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Jan 19
@DeborahDiane This would be a much better way.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Jan 19
@DeborahDiane The latest news here is that our teachers will be expected to teach negative gender something or other at an age that seems far too young. I need to do more research on it but sometimes it seems the whole world is going crazy.
2 people like this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
29 Dec 18
I do think facts matter. The good and the bad make up life.
We need to honour those who have fought for our country
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Dec 18
@responsiveme - I agree that we need to honor those who fought and respect those who have lost their lives as victims of war and other catastrophes.
3 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16533)
• China
29 Dec 18
I totally agree with you ! We should tell the children what had happened before their time.We must learn from history and never let ugly facts repeat themselves.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@changjiangzhibin89 - I agree! If we do not thoroughly teach children about World History, they will let the same bad things happen all over again!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
29 Dec 18
I absolutely agree with you! Sheltering children from the facts will give them a big shock later when they do find things have been fictionised to protect them from the bad things that have happened. What a ridiculous state of affairs we are all becoming far too PC.They need to learn it and deal with it and never forget these things happened. OH blimey I didn't think you would get me going this morning. This sort of thing really does mine and any sensible honest persons head in. Who are these stupid people. Clearly people who should be ignored ! Have a happy New Year!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@garymarsh6 - I agree with you completely, Gary! We cannot continue to shelter children and expect them to grow up to be responsible adults! Sorry to get you going! LOL
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
22 Jan 19
@TheHorse - I found it hard to believe, too, that 30% of Americans do not believe in the Holocaust. However, with the huge growth in evangelical based schools and churches (many of which do not believe in the Holocaust, although some do), home schooling (in which parents often choose not to teach certain topics), white supremacy, and the neo-Nazi movement, I have heard more and more people expressing belief in conspiracies. Many of them do not believe in the Holocaust or do not believe it was really "all that bad".
Here's a reputable article from Newsweek which states that one-third of Americans do not believe six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust: They believe "something" happened, but that it was not all that bad.
Seventy percent of Americans believe people care less about the Holocaust than they used to.
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
17 Jan 19
Yes, facts do matter. Holacust deniers are the ignorant people who voted for Trump and thing the Earth is flat.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 Jan 19
@DeborahDiane Truly, they view real news as fake news and vice versa.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
18 Jan 19
@JamesHxstatic - I agree. It is nearly impossible to have a rational discussion with them, because it is like we are speaking two different languages. I think Fox News has been one of the worse things to happen to Democracy, because they spread so many false stories and refuse to report anything which could benefit minority groups or the poor. As a result, their viewers have a distorted view of the world.
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
18 Jan 19
@JamesHxstatic - It is amazing to me that we live in a country with at least decent free public education and there are still people who deny the Holocaust and believe the earth is flat. Those people are also the ones who believe in White Supremacy, that Obama was not an American citizen, and that Hilary Clinton ran a child trafficking center from a pizza parlor.
It leaves me aghast that there are millions of people in our country who are so out-of-touch with reality and believe even the most extreme, weird ideas they run across on the internet or on Fox News, but they do not believe things which seem much more verifiable and logical.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@HazySue - I agree that this ignorance is an abomination.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (94595)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
18 Jan 19
We need to know that life is not all sunshine and rainbows all of the time. It is also a dark place that can keep people down if we cannot deal with the facts of life that are good as well as bad.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
18 Jan 19
@Deepizzaguy - I agree. Life is neither all good nor all bad. We need to learn to adjust to that reality.
1 person likes this
@janethwayne (5193)
• Philippines
14 Mar 19
It is good for the new generation or for the people to know about history as it is important.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Mar 19
@janethwayne - You are absolutely right that history is important. People need to know the truth.
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@aureliah - Yes, it is true that fact matter whetehr we like them or not. Recognizing the bad in the world keeps us safer.
@DeborahDiane (40056)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Dec 18
@jstory07 - I agree. Children need to be told about the good and bad in history, and how we never want these things to happen again.
