This is something that I think about from time to time. Actually, more often as time goes on.
How many of us know where we come from? I mean REALLY know.
Yeah, yeah, the smart ass out there is gonna say "I came from my parents. Yuk yuk yuk" Screw off dick stain. What I'm talking about is your heritage.
I know that my ancestors were primarily Vikings.
I know that there is some American Indian floating around inside of me somewhere, and all this is all cool to me.
My issue with this is that I don't know shit about any of my ancestors.
This is becoming frighteningly all too common.
As our civilization continues on, rushing about on it's course to whatever, our children are missing out on the most important of lessons.
The lesson that lets them know just exactly where they come from.
How often have you heard the term, "Dead language"?
Why is that? Because kids were too busy doing whatever to learn Aramaic or Latin or Navajo.
Personally, I think it would be cool as shit to learn German. Not from a teacher or a CD or anything like that, but from my great-grand mother (R.I.P.). I'd love to learn the Creek or Cherokee tongues from my great or even great great-paternal grand parents (R.I.P.). I have no idea where my lineage comes from after my Gramma and Grampa Wilson. I don't know names or faces or anything.
I can't ask my father any of this. He died some years ago, and after doing all of this research on his own, decided to die on me before he could pass it down.
My mom isn't a whole lot of help here either. Though she has knowledge of her grand parents, I think their parents died when she was young.
Really, I'm pretty lost after two generations back.
So much culture, heritage and history are lost here. It's sad.
There should be a conscious effort on behalf of all parents to sit their kids down and teach them their family history. Make the kids learn their heritage. Teach them the languages of their ancestors. Give the kids something to really be proud of, something priceless to pass on to their kids.
Don't let the past die. Not like this.
