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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