Every time I hear the words "revisionist history" I can't help wondering if it is really just redundant. Isn't history, that is to say the attempt to document past events for future generations, revisionist by nature? After all, "history is written by the victors." We like to assume that there is Truth - Absolute Truth - many of the readers of this blog assume that Truth is decidedly Democratic. Alas, there is no Absolute Truth ,and as humans we have been battling over that for centuries with each side in each conflict believing they have the handle on this mythic Truth.
Take today, for example, at least in the United States--the Fourth of July. Think of the history that is associated with this date. I don't mean a bunch of facts - Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence, America's birthday, and all that - I mean think about what you believe occurred some 230 years ago. What do you believe was the mindset on the "Colonial Street" as it were? We have a very revisionist picture of those times.
Did you know that at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (which by the way took a bit longer to sign then just on July 4th, 1776) about 1/3 of the population was in favor of revolution, 1/3 was in favor of the crown, and 1/3 just wanted to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads and didn't really have an opinion. One third of the population was against the idea of revolution! Talk about red state/blue state!
So what is my point? I'll have to take a moment and think about it. I write these posts completely on the fly - moved by the Spirit. I think my point is about keeping a healthy perspective. I have often posted before about the importance of living in the now. Of course, when we live in the now culturally, we believe that we are living in "the best of times and worst of times."
Pious folk believe that our depravity is about to drag us under - not recognizing that more open dialogue about issues doesn't translate into more activity. Depravity has been around in all manner of activities for as long as humans have had sexual urges. We can't believe how biased Fox News is or how biased the New York Times is - and, yet, the term yellow journalism has been around for over 100 years.
We are saddened by what we see as increased divisiveness in the country - the red state/blue state mentality, and, yet, even 233 years ago there was significant difference of opinion over the revolution. The media plays up that "divisiveness" as well. In reality most of the regions of this country are purple - a mix of red and blue - and those red and blue neighbors manage to get along just fine in their day to day.
Peace all and Happy Independence Day! Remember to always think for yourself!
Take today, for example, at least in the United States--the Fourth of July. Think of the history that is associated with this date. I don't mean a bunch of facts - Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence, America's birthday, and all that - I mean think about what you believe occurred some 230 years ago. What do you believe was the mindset on the "Colonial Street" as it were? We have a very revisionist picture of those times.
Did you know that at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (which by the way took a bit longer to sign then just on July 4th, 1776) about 1/3 of the population was in favor of revolution, 1/3 was in favor of the crown, and 1/3 just wanted to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads and didn't really have an opinion. One third of the population was against the idea of revolution! Talk about red state/blue state!
So what is my point? I'll have to take a moment and think about it. I write these posts completely on the fly - moved by the Spirit. I think my point is about keeping a healthy perspective. I have often posted before about the importance of living in the now. Of course, when we live in the now culturally, we believe that we are living in "the best of times and worst of times."
Pious folk believe that our depravity is about to drag us under - not recognizing that more open dialogue about issues doesn't translate into more activity. Depravity has been around in all manner of activities for as long as humans have had sexual urges. We can't believe how biased Fox News is or how biased the New York Times is - and, yet, the term yellow journalism has been around for over 100 years.
We are saddened by what we see as increased divisiveness in the country - the red state/blue state mentality, and, yet, even 233 years ago there was significant difference of opinion over the revolution. The media plays up that "divisiveness" as well. In reality most of the regions of this country are purple - a mix of red and blue - and those red and blue neighbors manage to get along just fine in their day to day.
Peace all and Happy Independence Day! Remember to always think for yourself!
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