Is it really something to be sad about that we are ignorant of our history?
Every Afghan knows the name of Malalai, the woman who inspired resistance to the British army in the 1840s. Every Serb can tell you the date of the battle of Kosovo Polje. No Ulster Protestant would get the Battle of the Boyne wrong. People en masse remember history when they need it to bolster a sense of national identity. Usually the results are malign. The English have the luxury of being complacent enough about their history that almost all of us can forget almost all of it. Where would you rather live?