Thomas Gray wrote a famous poem entitled, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College." It is a nostalgic look back on Gray's school days at Eton, when life was fun and carefree. The last two lines are:
No more; where ignorance is bliss
'Tis folly to be wise.
IOW, the boys are ignorant of what will happen to them in life. Most of them are, are they not? But should they be? Shouldn't schools prepare them for life? Don't they read? What are they reading that they don't encounter unkindness, death, poverty, war, ... life?
And then today we see angry people tearing down statues of people revered as heroes and anti-heroes. These statues are visible evidence of history, good and bad. You can't erase the bad by tearing down a statue. You need to remember the bad so you won't repeat it.
No more; where ignorance is bliss
'Tis folly to be wise.
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| Statue of Henry VI who founded Eton |
And then today we see angry people tearing down statues of people revered as heroes and anti-heroes. These statues are visible evidence of history, good and bad. You can't erase the bad by tearing down a statue. You need to remember the bad so you won't repeat it.
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