History is arguably the most important discipline. Hitler planned to ban the teaching of history to the Slavs he conquered, so as to deny them an identity and moral compass (see Hitler's Table Talk, a collection of his conversations from 1941-44-a brilliant book). What worries me is that the Left seems to have come to the same conclusion.
The lack of any historical perspective is why so many people are against the Iraq war/WOT. They do not understand the immense difficulty in winning a real conflict--they grew up on Clinton's "Bomb them from the Air/Withdraw When Any Resistance on the Ground Occurs" wars. But I am heartened by the success of the history channel, as well as grass-roots efforts (I know I'll ramble on forever if the subject of history is broached). And I've always held that self-education is far more effective than the indoctrination that occurs in our public schools.
Yes, the left thrives on an ignorant base. It seems that the NEA is the biggest pusher of ignorance.