Onime No Kyo
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Joined: 4/28/2004
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ORIGINAL: gladiatt
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ORIGINAL: Terminus
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ORIGINAL: Nikademus
I've often wondered how much longer WWII will remain in the public and wargamer conciousness to such a degree as we get more and more into the future. Thank heaven of course we don't have (so far) a "WWIII" to take it's place so that alone will keep it relevent, but as technology and politics change, its inevitable that there will be a growing disconnect.
WWI for example almost seems like it happened on another planet given the type of warfare, the mindset and the attitudes of that period in comparison to today's "MTV generation"
The "MTV generation" has no idea WWI happened.
i once made a statement on the general forum about such knowledge by the "new" generation, and the thread was closed by a Mod.
Anyway i will try to say it once more.
Here (i can't tell for others part of the world), the "young" know nearly nothing. Date of Charlemagne, of middle age, who was Platon or Socrate, when was Hundred Year War or the Great Plague. They have a very confuse notion about Louis XIV because it is our most renown king, but don't know his date of reign. French revolution, rise of industry, age of colony, or Napoleon are at best a big mist, at worst unknown. WWI is not known. WWII, well of course, with all the war-movie that we had. But the date ??? an inquiry was made a few years ago on the young students. D Day, was it in 1968 ? Or when the americans landed on the moon ?
Now, to ask youngster to remind of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Zola, or Joan of Arc, Louis-the-Saint, Clovis, Ambroise Paré.....  ;
In 20 years, guys like you or me will be kept in museum or zoo. When talking with younger collegues (from only 10 years) they can't understand what i am speaking of when talking Beatles, Stones, Led Zepp', Genesis, Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, Kubrick, Coppola....
I agree with you in sentiment Eric, but not necessarily in detail.
I think that holding the "generation" accountable is not correct. In my experience, most teenage and young adult members of any generation are numskulls, who generally could not give a rat's @ss about anything outside of money, the opposite sex and hedonistic entertainment. Regrettably, they usually grow up to be adults with exact same values. I got the same reaction for "knowing stuff" when I was in that age group as I'm sure many of you who are older. Older generations tend not to expect much from kids, and are pleasantly surprised when theyre proven wrong. I have no doubt that there are many teens today who both know and understand historical events, but who are few and far between and otherwise lost in a gray mass of numskulls.
I also think that it is incorrect to judge the younger generation by your values. While I understand the significance of the Stones in a historical context, I have never thought much of their music. I think the "nurture" part of my childhood simply taught me to gravitate toward a different type of sound (bassy, techno-ish, etc). Of course, if you had said Bach, Beethoven, etc, I would agree with you completely, and the same thoughts would apply as do to the history example in regards to younger generations. Some parts of our lives are "classic" to us. But some parts of humanity's past should be "classic" universally.
I better stop before I cross that dreaded line. 
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"Mighty is the Thread! Great are its works and insane are its inhabitants!" -Brother Mynok
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