What Can We Do If History Is Untrue?

And the characters lacked virtue | GiaB prompt #18— history

History: Fact or Fiction?

There was a time when history was presented as a set of facts. Indisputable. There has been a lot of controversy around this approach. His-story leaves out her-story and their-story. Perspective is paramount.

I have not done extensive research on all historical perspectives and fact-fueding controversies. There are far too many. The world, every continent, every country, every city, every town, and every family has its own.

I have learned some other sides of some famous historical figures and alternate perspectives on some well-known historical stories. Ignoring these new versions can evoke feelings of hurt in some people and in some groups of people. Of course, Christopher Columbus comes to mind…arrived or discovered, hero or villain? How many facts do we need to change our views?

Responsibility

I support uncovering multiple perspectives. That can lead to revising limited views, removing hurtful images, phrases, remembrances, and symbols. We do have some rights that could allow us to hurt others and stick to the facts that we thought were true, but why would we want to? Because it is our civil right? What are our human responsibilities?

Should I also support removing the accolades from a person if research shows the person knowingly acted in hurtful ways? Should I also support separating hurtful work from wonderful work, good deeds from bad deeds? Can we still celebrate the good? How do we decide? How bad does it have to be before we dismiss both?

Should I also support separating the actions of a person in a given time period from judgment in another time period where the standards were not the same? I am thankful daily that we have raised our awareness and our standards in many ways. They are not yet high enough in my opinion, but many people are taking steps in the right direction.

Dr. Seuss

The famous author, Dr. Seuss, is a character that has recently come under scrutiny. His virtues are in question. In the big picture, I don’t find this controversy around one person, and one collection of books, nearly as impactful and important as some others that are on stage at this moment, but it caught my attention.

I have very fond memories of Dr. Seuss as a child. I don’t believe that Dr. Seuss’s books implanted any implicit bias in me. But by nature, implicit biases don’t announce themselves or where they came from.

I shared Dr. Seuss with students for over twenty years. I have never noticed any child focusing on anything but the silly fun of Dr. Seuss’s books. But again, implicit biases have many unnoted sources.

Dr. Seuss and his children’s books are iconic. Some titles have offensive stereotypic images. Some of his works for adults are more explicitly racist. Some of his later titles are used in anti-racism curriculums to celebrate differences. Did he learn and grow? Do we leave room for that? Is he no longer a literary genius? Is it time to take a stand and cancel Dr. Seuss?

Taking Informed Action

We live in a cancel culture. We can’t cancel history or we won’t grow. There are many issues deeply rooted in history that rear their ugly heads on a daily basis. We live in a world that is divided in many ways. Sometimes when alternative perspectives are uncovered, we find out that things were not as they appeared. When we find out that history is not true to what we knew, what should we do? When we find out that our historical patterns are not producing productive results, how do we make things right?

I think about this on a regular basis. Should we give some people and situations the benefit of the doubt, a second chance…or should we take a stand. Sometimes there is a fine line that is hard to see and the solutions are not as clear as I wish they would be.

When new facts and perspectives are uncovered we must use them for clarity as we decide when and where to stand on issues. We must take informed action. We are writing history.

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone will find the clarity they need to understand history, learn, grow, and give their best to the world.

Thank you to Victor Sarkin for the prompt: History