Remembrance of things past

June 6 is important in American history for a couple of events which continue to resonate with many people.   D-Day in Europe occurred in 1944.  The generation which saved western civilization (for what that is worth) is rapidly dying off.  By the time my grandchildren have established a new generation, those children will be as far removed from WW2 as my generation was from the Civil War which in turn was distant from the American Revolution.   As history fades into the rear view mirror it is incumbent upon each generation to remember and try to make sense of big events lest they become just another speed bump in humanity's march forward.   The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy happened on this day 50 years ago.  Although I can't remember exactly where I was that day as opposed to the day of his brother's death, Bobby Kennedy's eventual legacy may have actually outpaced JFK's.  He would almost surely been elected in 1968 and would have ended the Vietnam War.   The nation would have avoided Watergate and the erosion of trust in government that scandal engendered.  A clutch of liberal ideas would have been enacted into law and mountebanks like the present occupant of the Oval Office would have been seen as the two bit huckster they are.   So, while our participation in the 2nd  World War surely has had a huge effect on history, the bullets fired by Sirhan Sirhan on that fateful day in Los Angeles may have had almost as large an effect on today's world.  Somewhere a butterfly prepares to flap its wings....