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Jake Peterson's avatar

Another thought-provoking post, Bill. It reminded me of this Ira Berlin quote: “History is not about the past; it is about arguments we have about the past. And because it is about arguments that we have, it is about us.”

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Richard Munro's avatar

Very good. I couldn't help think of the Monty Python joke "what have the Romans ever given us?". History is about freedom lost and won about struggles to establish prosperous and secure communities. But one can only learn from history if one seeks the truth and is honest. The USA is a first world free society and we should want to stay that way. How we got here and how we progress into the future or decline depends, in part, by our honest understanding of our history and the history of Western Civilization.

Nationalistic histories tend to romanticize one point of view and omit negative or embarassing moments.

I recall a Spanish tour guide at Castillo Gormaz in Soria, Spain. He was recounting the Reconquista and saying the Spanish Christians heroically won this battle and that one.

One of the tourists with us in the group was an Arab and he said, "Hey didn't the Moors win some battles?" The tour guide answered, "As long as I am the guide here they won't win any!" Isn't that the attitude of some people towards history?

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