Letting the Facts Speak for Themselves

PERHAPS, IF NOTHING ELSE, we might agree on one fact; the history of the United States o America is an interwoven tapestry of achievement, progress, and monstrous injustices. Few of us seem aware of this, however, because what is taught to american school children is not history, but rather, "hagiography". Hagiography is the telling of history from the viewpoint of the subject matter, which is to say, a telling which places emphasis only upon the achievement and progress, but not on the monstrous injustices. Always, there are both. In recent years an attempt has been made to create a better balance, to examine both the positive and the negative, but this has been met with righteous indignation by conservatives, who prefer hagiography, and prefer wrapping themselves in the comforting cloak of patriotism, as if in so doing the are assuming the high ground, which most certainly they are not. When one ignores the negative, one has failed to reach the high ground, that of illuminating truth. Descriptions of aid to foreign countries must be accompanied by mention of exploitation of their resources. The defeat of Imperial Germany and Nazi Germany must be preceded by mention of the War of 1812, the Mexican War of 1846 and, the Spanish american war of 1898. The twentieth century wars against German aggression were necessary contributions to human progress, the three nineteenth century wars were not. In the spirit of the great German historian von Ranke, who admonished us to "tell it like it was", may we all conquer the ever urgent temptation to descend into hagiography, and just stick to the facts. Facts must be organized and interpreted, but our interpretations should be tempered by caution, balance, and reason. Usually, they speak rather well for themselves.