Lest we forget -

[Observer II]

49%  of respondents  to a recent poll, didn't know what "VJ Day" meant.   Which begs the question, what history is being taught in our schools ?   😠

[Evil Sid]

The politically correct sort where nobody does anything bad and treats everybody fairly........🤭

Well we don't want to traumatise the little ..."darlings" ...do we......🤪

[Davy51]

My ex father in law is buried in Karrakata Cemetery in Perth ,Oz, he was a guest of the Japanese after Singapore fell. I find it hard to believe the cruelty of the Japanese to their fellow people. Just like the Nazis with their multi ethnic victims. Alas,the world still hasn't learned.

[asperity]

1 hour ago, Evil Sid said:

The politically correct sort where nobody does anything bad and treats everybody fairly........🤭

Well we don't want to traumatise the little ..."darlings" ...do we......🤪

It's more like "nobody did anything bad apart from the evil British empire builders who enslaved the whole world in their quest for the world's riches". This is why these islands are the home to the worst racists on the planet and no civilised person would want to come here lest they be tainted or something.

[Observer II]

It's not as if the information isn't out there,  not a day goes by without an historical documentary on freeview or youtube.  So one has to presume that folk are more preoccupied in self centred trivia than gaining knowledge,  and the education system is failing to inject any curiosity for such knowledge.  

[Evil Sid]

But all documentaries are biased against the losers.

As for youtube anybody can create a channel and put just about anything on it. If it contains a cat it has a million viewers. facts are boring ask any teenager.

[Observer II]

How exactly does the notion that the winners write history,  disprove the facts of an occurance; like the date of a battle or end of a war ?    VJ Day was the date of the unconditional surrender of the Japanese in 1945 - simple historical fact that should be known by all, if only to remind folk what a previous generation gave up for them.   Historians can argue over the morality of dropping a nuclear weapon to bring about that victory, the pros and cons of alleged war crimes etc; but the fact that VJ Day was the day the war ended remains. Teenagers may be bored with learning,  and their ignorance thus self inflicted;  but we have an educational system designed to impart knowledge, which is apparently not working.    

[Confused52]

Obs, I fear that as technology advances we now do not need to retain facts - they can always be looked up (until they are physically gone - so at least in principle). Rather we need only the principles of analysis and the criteria to apply. However the internet does not give the criteria for any time other than the present and so we get what we see around us. They are not so much bored with learning as taught not to do it. The internet does not keep things forever and the digital generation will love their cherished information in a way that has never happened since we invented writing. 

You see this in libraries where records are lost when the tools to access old formats of storage are uneconomical to replace because the media cannot be reproduced automatically and example is lots of microfilm. If a hobbyist doesn't want the data it will disappear.

[Davy51]

I suppose the morality of the bomb comes down to ,firstly, that it quickly ended a brutal & bloody conflict, & secondly , the very nature of the death & destruction caused by the bomb has ensured mutual peace between the major opposed political blocs formed after WW2.

[Observer II]

I won't challenge your assessment Con; but it suggests the eventual picture of human enslavement to IT - with the robots in charge. Beam me up Scottie.   💀    Dave,  on the face of it the A-bomb ended the Japanese appetite to continue the war.  It's use was deemed necessary on the basis of estimates of US losses in an invasion of the Japanese home Islands - circ a million, and a continuation of the war into 1947.  It could be argued that the defeat of their Manchurian Army by the Russians, tipped the balance also. 💀

[Evil Sid]

9 hours ago, Observer II said:

but it suggests the eventual picture of human enslavement to IT - with the robots in charge.

It has already happened. Alexa, Siri, hive, sat nav. All examples of robotic control of our lives

Self driving cars, cars with intelligent parking and automatic collision avoidance and braking.

There are probably a lot more examples as well.

14 hours ago, Observer II said:

How exactly does the notion that the winners write history,  disprove the facts of an occurance; like the date of a battle or end of a war ?    VJ Day was the date of the unconditional surrender of the Japanese in 1945 - simple historical fact that should be known by all, if only to remind folk what a previous generation gave up for them. 

It does not disprove the date of a battle or the ending of a war and i agree it should be known by all no matter what side you are on.

Few people today are interested in what happened 20 years ago let alone 60 or more years ago. as anybody under twenty who won xfactor in 2015 and they will reel off the answer by rote. Ask them who Nicholas Breakspear was  and what was it he is known for and they will say didn't he write plays or something.

[Davy51]

To certain age groups today wars & their history are irrelevant  as is history in general. What is an interesting subject to still many of us is being overtaken ,in the eyes of just as many, by reality tv & various  social media platforms which provide them with the "truth" as they see it. History to many people is having a full set of "Friends" videos & a working knowledge of last year's must see reality tv shows.

[Observer II]

In order to best navigate your way into the future, you need to know where you've been.  😉