Rush Limbaugh versus Historical Accuracy

RUSH LIMBAUGH'S NEW BOOK, Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims, or something like that, is an attempt to teach children the same brand of American history that has been taught to children for two hundred years; "hagiography", its called, the kind which flatters and makes the United States of America look entirely virtuous by leaving out the unflattering facts. Every country in world history does the same thing; they teaches their children a pack of lies in order to brainwash said children into being happily, easily obedient to the powers that be. We all want our children to grow up loyal to the tribe, the community, the country. One can assume, without reading Rush's book; first, that he didn't actually write it, and secondly, that it makes America look absolutely beautiful, which, of course it is. But its much more than that, and just when we are starting to work up the courage to tell the truth, the whole truth, and not just the flattering version, here comes Rush, claiming that we are wrong to do this. The truth is that the pilgrims in 1607 and 1620 were courageous to the point of being gamblers. And they bravely hung on to survive, even though they did some starving and dying for several years. The truth is that both groups, in Virginia and Massachusetts, survived early on by stealing from local Indians, and that one Indian chief in Virginia told the Jamestown folks "why do you steal with hatred the things we would gladly give you with love"? The truth is that a shipment of African slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619, only twelves years after the colony's founding, and this first shipment established a long and nightmarish precedent. The settlers needed fresh, free labor, badly. The pilgrims wanted to enslave the local Indians, but the Indians were too clever, too numerous, too able to defend themselves, too uncooperative with the pilgrim's plans and "progress." For most of American history, until quite recently, unpleasant realities like these have been omitted, and, it is highly likely that Rush Limbaugh did not choose to include them in his book. No problem, really. Even with all the piously patriotic but historically dishonest Rush Limbaughs in the world, the truth always finds a way to emerge. Even in our escape entertainment culture, where fantasy trumps fact, there are still truth seekers among us.