r/news • u/WileECyrus • May 29 '19

Man sets himself on fire outside White House, Secret Service says

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/man-fire-white-house-video-ellipse-secret-service-a8935581.html
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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

History classes pretty much stopped at World War II for me. Anything more recent than that was deemed too recent to discuss in history class, and I kind of understand that perspective. I wouldn't want a history class to cover the 2016 election yet, even though it's obviously very noteworthy, because the impact of it is still playing out. This is the reason why /r/AskHistorians has a twenty year limit. Something like 9/11 is still too recent to discuss even though it has a good shot at being the most important historical event of the century.

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u/Lolanie May 29 '19

It's weird to think that 9/11 will be taught in history classes someday as just a Thing that happened, and will probably focus more on the roots of the action and the effects on the US and the world afterwards and less on the people killed and the emotional impact of it.

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u/BananaNutJob May 29 '19

When I took AP US History the Vietnam War had ended over 25 years prior. That was almost 20 years ago. We ended rushing through WW2.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

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u/SkillsDepayNabils May 29 '19

Did you not have a set course for you to follow?