Black and White. Good and Evil. The list goes on and on. I suspect that the oversimplification of religious texts, twitter sized histories and differing senses of fairness have something to do with this. Personally I find this a very exciting time for history and how it is written. I have learned a tremendous amount over the last five ye…
Black and White. Good and Evil. The list goes on and on. I suspect that the oversimplification of religious texts, twitter sized histories and differing senses of fairness have something to do with this. Personally I find this a very exciting time for history and how it is written. I have learned a tremendous amount over the last five year alone. The newer narratives lend a richness to American History that I did get as a young man. I can see how flag waving Americans would hate anything that interrupts the illusion and would make them reconsider. Insecurities and mental illness in people’s personal lives spill over to the public sphere. People are all things and so is history and histories are made up of people who encompass all things good and not good. I for one embrace it.
I do understand how simple narratives can be very comforting, too. Wouldn't it be nice if we could clearly identify good people and evil people and love the one and despise the other? Too bad history gives us no such comfort. One of the reasons we on the left are struggling to attract people who don't want to think too hard is that the truth is complex and the Rs are peddling a simple and easily-understood, though entirely false, narrative.
Black and White. Good and Evil. The list goes on and on. I suspect that the oversimplification of religious texts, twitter sized histories and differing senses of fairness have something to do with this. Personally I find this a very exciting time for history and how it is written. I have learned a tremendous amount over the last five year alone. The newer narratives lend a richness to American History that I did get as a young man. I can see how flag waving Americans would hate anything that interrupts the illusion and would make them reconsider. Insecurities and mental illness in people’s personal lives spill over to the public sphere. People are all things and so is history and histories are made up of people who encompass all things good and not good. I for one embrace it.
I do understand how simple narratives can be very comforting, too. Wouldn't it be nice if we could clearly identify good people and evil people and love the one and despise the other? Too bad history gives us no such comfort. One of the reasons we on the left are struggling to attract people who don't want to think too hard is that the truth is complex and the Rs are peddling a simple and easily-understood, though entirely false, narrative.
That's why we have movies and why (with a couple of rare exceptions) one should never think they have "learned" history from watching one.