History Fragments

I have a MA in history. So because you care and I want to share, here are some of my pet peeves as they relate to "history".

People who quote the "Constitution" and mention that it states, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". NOPE - THAT'S WRONG.

(go ahead and Google it -I'll wait right here)

People who think Jesus didn't exist because you can't trust biased sources.

So they think other ancient sources are unbiased? Do they understand "history" as we understand it, define it and "do it", is a late 19th century invention? At some point, you just have to trust the written record and the sources we have. There are good reasons to not believe Jesus is not the "Son of God" but almost all serious scholars believe Jesus of Nazareth was a real, living person. Of course secular scholars don't believe the claims stated about him are true, only that given the evidence, we can infer he likely existed.  We might as well question any ancient person's existence, as most of our sources on folks back then exist only in a single source to begin with.

People who think only winners write the history books.

Not always, the prime example being the American Civil War. The losers dominated that story for at least 80 years. Freaking racist traitors.

People who think the we can't judge the past.

Why not? Don't forget there were people at the time at thought slavery was wrong. It doesn't take a genius to figure out killing, raping, exploiting, burning alive, or other torturous acts are not moral. Don't forget these were human beings with brains, they should be criticized for not using them or for their amorality.

People who fail to take into account historical context of the 2nd Amendment and/or who don't understand that "arms" in the 18th century have about as much as common with "arms" today as the horse and buggy do with automobiles.

No comment, just ya know, common sense.

People who think the American Civil War was not fought over slavery.

Seriously, read the sources. Read the newspapers of the time. These folks show almost the same level of ignorance that holocaust deniers use.

People who think oral history is worthless.

The more we seem to understand about oral history the more amazing it is - how much people retain and pass on from generation to generation is incredible. Not that it's 100% accurate, it's just better than you would think.

People who think "things were better back then".

No, it was not "better". Think about how terrible things are right now on planet earth. Poverty, injustice, dictatorships, wars, global warming, pollution, crime, etc. HOWEVAR - at no point in the ENTIRE history of humanity is there a better time to live in than right now. Especially if you are woman or (at least in the US) if you are part of a minority group of some kind. Just think of the violence, sexism & racism (both legal and cultural forms) the horrors of  early capitalism and exploitation of workers, rigid social and economic mobility, lack of public and free education, slavery, caste systems, sexual abuse, child abuse, spousal abuse, ABUSE, child labor, a lack of a police force, invasions, wars, lack of resources, a lack of a clean water supply and a lack of stable food sources, intolerance of all breeds and manners, religion-led wars and torture, massive genocide, germ warfare, closed minds, rigid social life, colonization and forced relocations.  I could go on.

I know we still have many of those in this sad world but not at the level that existed in the past. In many countries, the progress made in some areas is nothing short of a miracle. It's lucky we haven't blown this world up in a nuclear holocaust as well. Oh yeah, I forgot. Diseases. Lots and lots of diseases. Without vaccinations and modern medicine, most of us wouldn't have reached past the age of 6 in most time periods.

That's it party people. Stay cool and if I don't blog before then, Happy Easter!!!