Re history in U.S. high schools. Some states require a course in American history before graduation. Even in these, most such courses end with V-J Day in 1945. The reason is a combination of lack of time and the reluctance of schools and schoolboards to deal with anything remotely "controversial," which means likely to make know-nothing parents angry enough to complain to the principal and start a fuss.

Most American high school graduates know virtually nothing about the past sixty years.

The teaching of evolution, which became "controversial" again twenty years ago, is being similarly undermined by fear of "controversy."