learning from the past

I reconnected with an old college professor today. He remarked on the entry where I related how nonpulsed my sons were by the Obama election, saying" it's sometimes hard to understand the moment when you're in it. Only on reflection does it mean something."

And yet, should that be true for everyone? Or should it be the job of the elite - those blessed with education, power or wealth to have greater perspective? Like many, I'm still struggling with the failure of so many to not forsee the financial crisis. What should we attribute this stunning lack of vision to? In retrospect, the shakiness of so many of these financial instruments seems obvious. There are many similarities to current events and previous crisises. Did people simply not know their history well enough? Or is a lack of courage to speak up against what "everyone else is doing?" And if so, how do we develop citizens with more spine to steer the ship in these dififcult days ahead?