History

“History is bunk.” (Henry Ford)

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana)

And they're both right.

History is an indispensable part of our education but it's sometimes difficult to know what is true.

Let me add another perspective. “History is written by the victors.” Winston Churchill is credited with that thought, although we all know it to be true. We see it every day in the media. The term we use currently is “spin,” and it reflects the way that some want others to “understand” and remember the facts. That's what the victors in battle did. And later generations passed on their views to us as an accurate reflection of what had happened. Sometimes it was true, but not always.

In his “Life of George Washington,” Pastor Mason Weems taught us many myths about our first president – myths that have come to be accepted as reflecting the character of George Washington, even if the “facts” may have been manufactured. Like the work of Thomas Bowdler, Weems goal was to teach morality, but it's been passed down as history.

The Russians made an art of spin. They rewrote history. But they had the power to do so. They could change the text of textbooks and present it to several generations as facts which were eventually accepted. George Orwell, in 1984, fictionalized that act, but his meaning was clear. If we don't know what tyrannies can do, and prevent them, they will deceive us again and again.

And despots, given the opportunity (and if not they'll take it anyway), will use twisted history to justify their own acts. Hitler blamed the Jews for undermining German war efforts and he set out to destroy them both before, and during, the war that he precipitated. History can be used as an excuse for evil.

But it can also be used positively, if that is the aim of those who cite it – even if the “facts” it uses are wrong. The Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av – a single date – commemorates disastrous events that occurred on different dates so as to obviate the need for additional fast days. No attempt is made to alter the other details of the events – only the days. The source of information is the Bible, admittedly written before factuality became an important part of history, although many accept its words at face value as the words of G-d.

Also problematic as history are the Gospels, written after Jesus's death by people who never met him. They were based on stories circulating at the time and have been accepted as accurate, notwithstanding the disputed historicity.

My words should not be understood as a denial of history. The vast majority of what we learn is probably true. It is based on artifacts which provide the facts on which history texts are based. But the historical record also relies on the accounts of those who lived at the time of those events, and their views may be based on ideology rather than truth. We see that with “spin.”

Quoting a Russian proverb, President Reagan said “ Trust but verify.” He was speaking of nuclear inspections, but he was using the words of a nation that had often covered up or altered history to further its position. They're good words, however, for understanding history. The record we have is a valuable guide for us, but it is strengthened, and more worthy of our reliance and observance when supported by reliable evidence.

Properly documented history is not bunk. But sometimes people knowingly make it so in order to aid their own agendas.

June 15. 2017