Let's use holidays to learn history

Boy have I got a bridge to sell you. I do hope I am wrong. You state that in the future, nearly all Americans will understand what happened on June 19, 1865, and why. I am certainly not going to try and rank holidays or important days in the history of the United States, but at least Juneteenth has a definite date, unlike the national three-day holidays that mean. "Let's go watch a game and get drunk."

So lets have an historical quiz. What happened in 1865? What happened between 1861 and 1865? What is Decoration Day or Memorial Day and what are we decorating or memorializing? Pulaski? Columbus? Where is he from and where did he sail from?

Veterans Day? Why is that November 11 and not a Monday? Independence Day? Independent from whom? Labor Day? Who works and what union? King Day, I thought we got rid of kings on July 4.

Let's teach history, and I mean all history, the good, bad and ugly. And just as the curve on the Juneteenth flag represents a new horizon and opportunity, let it include an opportunity to learn from each other and truly become one with an understanding of where we came from and where we might go together.

Jim Sather

Geneva