Do you remember watching Troy? Not a particularly awesome movie, but the message about remembering? Powerful. "I will be with you as long as you always remember me."
 
Think about it. We pass through our lives, ignorant and uncaring about the many people that went into shaping it. Our ancestors? When was the last time you thought about the brave people that gave you life? Do you even know who they are? It's kind of sad, isn't it? Do you know your great-grandmother's name? No? See?
 
Remember these people. They had lives, they were stories, and they are the fabric that made you. Even wondering about them is remembering them. I think this is one aspect of the Jewish life I admire so much.  They know their history - they take time to remember the lives before theirs. I think the biggest part of this post is to remind everyone that it is easy to forget history.
 
Don't do it. It's one of the reasons why the same mistakes are made in history over and over again. Remember the sadness and the pain of the tortured ones - the slaves, the Jews, your people. Because at one time, your people were oppressed too. Take time to know your history. Indian people are the worst at this - Malayalee people especially. We know nothing beyond our grandparents. And I have to say, it's pathetic. Because, oh! the stories that can be told! I spent last January in India with my grandmother and she had so many stories to tell me. It was like her mind was this fading book - the ink was dying slowly and she wanted to make sure that the stories she had held all these years would be remembered.
 
In your history, there are love stories, war stories, and stories of peace. There are kings and queens, soldiers and courtiers. There is purity and filth. There are secrets that must be opened. There is courage, humility, and a whole host of other things. And the people that embodied them should never be forgotten. I can't say enough how much this remembering means. Think! Think of the tears that a great-grandmother cried, the victory that a great-aunt accomplished. Remember your culture, your history. Remember you.
 
Beyond this, take some time to remember the ones who silently suffered, and whose painful stories will never be told. Shed tears for them, because no one else has. Do not leave them to become ashes in time, a painful trace. You might have not shed their tears, but because they did, you do not have to. Think back because all history is your history. Remember those that went into the making of it - the good, the bad - they are all worth remembering. It hurts my heart every time I think of the Holocaust. There had to be some girl there that could have been me. And her story has never been told. But for her and for the millions of others before and after her, I urge you to remember.  

Because such stories should never be forgotten.