On Apr 16, 2006, at 3:55 PM, qvarizona wrote:
> Randy Cabell asked:: However, given that THE TEN DAYS leave out
> Pearl Harbor and 9/11, can anybody tell me how the ten were chosen?
>
> In my opinion, the answer is simple: Politics. Aside from two or
> three of the choices, the same ten would not have been on the list
> 20-40 years ago, nor will they necessarily be on the list 20-40
> years from now. I can understand --but NOT agree-- with the list not
> including Pearl Harbor; too many youngsters have no inkling of it's
> import since it's barely mentioned in today's schools. But leave out
> 9/11? Has to be politics.
>
> Joanne
>
>
>
Wait a second, folks: I haven't seen any of the series, but its title
appears to be "Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America," not "The
Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America" (see
http://www.historychannel.com/10days/ ). The absence of the definite
article makes all the difference: the series creators are not claiming
that these are the only ten such days, or the most important ten such
days. They are just presenting these--by implication--as an
interesting and important group of ten such days.
Which explains the absence of Pearl Harbor and 9/11, but doesn't answer
Randy's question: why these ten?
I dunno. Maybe there's a theme, or something. But clearly, "The Ten
Most Important. . . ." isn't it.
With best wishes--
--Jurretta Heckscher
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