Perhaps if all the peoples of the world understand what war really means, we would eliminate it.
Walter CronkiteRead
History must share with reading, writing and arithmetic first rank as the most important subjects in the curriculum. Understanding the issues on which citizens of a republic are expected to vote is impossible without an understanding of the past.
Interpretation
What this quote means
History is crucial for an informed citizenship, equaling reading, writing, and arithmetic in importance.
Walter Cronkite emphasizes the foundational role that history plays in education. He argues that understanding historical contexts is essential for citizens to make informed decisions during elections, making it as important as basic literacy and numeracy skills in the educational curriculum. Without a grasp of the past, individuals cannot fully comprehend the issues that affect their society.
Themes
HistoryEducationCitizenshipCurriculumUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about educational reform, one could emphasize Cronkite's quote to advocate for the inclusion of history as a core subject.
More from Walter Cronkite
All quotes →The death of Churchill at 90 was one of those watershed moments in which the obituary rises to a special calling beyond the sharing of remembered times. It gave an older generation a rare opportunity to explain something of itself to its children.
Walter CronkiteRead
I suppose popularity is measured by ratings. If a broadcaster is known as the leader because of ratings, then that's where people most want to be seen and heard, so there's no question that there's an advantage.
Walter CronkiteRead
Objective journalism and an opinion column are about as similar as the Bible and Playboy magazine.
Walter CronkiteRead
I feel no compulsion to be a pundit. As a matter of fact, I really don't have that much to say about most things. Working with hard news satisfies me completely.
Walter CronkiteRead
I think that our comfort is in our history.
Walter CronkiteRead
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