David Mccullough's History And Knowing Who We Are

After reading History And Knowing Who We Are by David McCullough, I notice some very important things he has pointed out, such as the lack of knowledge of the younger generations, the way people are unable to move on from the past, and the lack of people helping the country advance.
In McCullough’s essay, he points out how the younger generation is uneducated on the history of the United States, “Today, the new generation of young Americans are like a field of cut flowers, by-and-large historically illiterate. This does not bode well for our future.” (McCullough). This affects the way our country functions because we don’t know our background and previous events in our history. Some of the ethnic groups behave differently towards others because of the information they have learned about history, but they were not taught the entire story so they have hatred toward people of different ethnicities. Another problem with not being educated on our history is we don’t appreciate

many traditions in our lives, because many people don’t know the background behind them. It is not only the fault of adults for the lack of information within us, it is also the fault of the generation we live in, many don’t put in the effort to listen and learn. With that being said, it is still the responsibility of our teachers and parents to attempt to educate us on the past of the country we live in, while putting it in a way that we can understand.
The people of our generation blame each other for the mistakes our ancestors made, which makes it difficult for us to come together as a country. The people who refuse to move on from the past and accept the changes made in the United States of America fail to realize that the lives of our ancestors is not the same as ours, we have developed more from them physically, technologically, and mentally. We are not as limited as they were, and there are many more opportunities that we do not take advantage of because we won’t accept the changes in our country, “And we would do well to remind young people that nobody ever lived in the past.” (McCollough). The purpose of learning about our founders is not so that we can be exactly like them and go back to live the same as the people before us, it is so that we can learn not only from their mistakes, but from their achievements too. After analyzing their achievements we should improve and advance upon them, not dwell on them without making an effort to make not only our lives better, but the lives of the next generation.
When McCullough says “None of the writers and signers of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia during that fateful summer of 1776 were superhuman; each had flaws, failings, and weaknesses.”, the point I get from this quote is that nobody is perfect, but just because you are flawed does not mean that you can not stand up and help fight for a change, because you have that ability and right to help make the world a better and safer place.

The people who fight for this country are not people that are flawless, or superhuman, they are regular people who were determined to make a difference in this country. The presidents of the United States and other people of the government were not born differently than everyone else, or more special, they are like everyone else, but help come up with ideas to make the country more successful and efficient. With this being said, you’re not required to only fight on the battlefield, or be a part of the government just to make a difference in our

country.
Changing the way we live our daily lives could have an affect on the way we live in a very positive way, instead of waiting for someone else to change the world, every citizen needs to try to make the United States a better place to live, and learning about our history is just the beginning.