I couldn’t find it tonight, but you have read, heard, or in some way been subject to the quote which goes something like this: Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.

So it’s hard for me to comprehend why history teachers in schools around our nation seem to make U.S. history so disinteresting. I didn’t like history much in high school. Names, dates, places, and obscure facts. But when I discovered that history as told in stories, events, yes, and even anecdotes, is actually very scintillating, dazzling, and even entertaining, I began to be enticed by it!

History when taught correctly is fun! I learned some things I had not know on a business trip to Philadelphia in 1976. That was the year of the celebration of the Bi-centennial of our Declaration of Independence. When I visited historic places and heard tales of our nation’s founding, I was captivated.

I began gathering stories about Thomas Jefferson. That lead to stories about George Washington, Patrick Henry and John Adams. I was so intrigued I began sharing what I learned with friends. That led to talks to groups, then to bigger groups, then to schools and the University. That, in turn, led to requests for a book full of such stories. So it was because of these requests I eventually wrote the book “Founding Fathers—Uncommon Heroes.”

Senator Orrin Hatch wrote about this book: “We will be better able to (keep it as a republic) if we are familiar with the noble character traits and beliefs which our Founding Fathers possessed, and which they affirmed were indespensible to the maintaining of a free nation. This book is a fascinating and educating reminder of the character traits and beliefs that made our Founding Fathers incredibly “uncommon heroes.”

In our current political climate I came across the following quote: “What experience and history teach is this—that people and governments never have learned anything from history or acted on principles deduced from it.” –Georg Wilhelm Frederick Hegel

Think about that as you consider your vote for our new President this year.