All US citizens should read this, particularly if you have children and/or grandchild

[FalconAngel]

Got this in the e-mail today:


Don't Let Texas Rewrite History

If you thought that decisions made by the Texas State Board of Education don't affect you, think again.

Led by right-wing ideologues, the Texas board recently gave preliminary approval to a plan that would radically change what children across the country learn in history class.

The ultra-conservative majority on the board — many of whom are explicitly anti-science and believe that the United States is a "Christian nation" — took the curricula proposed by teachers and made over a hundred changes, questioning the separation between church and state and diminishing the role of women and minorities.

But it gets worse. Since Texas is one of the largest textbook markets in the country, material written to cater to the Texas curricula will find its way into textbooks across the country unless textbook publishers take a stand.

We can't allow a small group of extreme ideologues on the Texas State Board of Education to re-write history. Click here to tell textbook publishers to stand up to Texas extremists.

Children who use textbooks conforming to the new standards will not learn anything about the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson or his thoughts on the separation of church and state. When they learn about the Civil War, they'll have to study Jefferson Davis' inaugural address alongside Abraham Lincoln's. And when they study the civil rights movement they'll have to learn about the "unintended consequences" of affirmative action and Title IX.

In a particularly glaring rewriting of history, when reading about Joe McCarthy students will be told that he was right all along about communist infiltration into the U.S. government.

This is outrageous. We will have failed our children and imperiled our future if we cannot teach accurate history. We can't let far-right ideologues co-opt our educational system.

Click here to tell the textbook publishers: Don't let Texas rewrite history.

Thank you for standing up for the American educational system.

- The Change.org Team in partnership with CREDO Action

[Karasel]

America is no place to raise kids anymore.. This makes me so mad.

[12voltman59]

I have been reading and hearing about those changes in the Texas school text books---and I understand that most states do tend to adopt the textbooks that Texas uses since they have one of the largest number of kids in schools.

It was kinda smart in a stealthy way for the knuckle draggers to insert their atavistic beliefs into the Texas school books--they really do seem intent on "dumbing down" America.

Thats OK---for anyone who thinks that is a way to progress your people and your nation---I want to sell ya some prime beach property in Montana--but I digress! lol

The Chinese, the Indians, South Koreans and other countries are placing high value on training their students with the latest high tech sorts of things---free from the constraints of having to kowtow to ideas that are set by fundamentalist types of religious and world views.

While America might have been falling down on our primary education for years now we were the place to go for higher education for students all around the world but----since 9/11---in our fear and with some degree of xenophobia--we have made it darn nigh impossible for students from many parts of the world from coming to the US to earn advanced education--and there are already many people in the know like Bill Gates and others who say that this already has hurt our economic competitiveness and such and is only going to get worse as time goes on.

We do have many American universities setting up shop in places like Dubai now where students from across the Arab world are getting their advanced degrees from American institutions and in some cases now--American students are going over there to get their degrees.

I knew that there was some reason I didn't want to have kids--and the dumbing down trend we see thanks in large part to our more conservative elements only makes me glad I didn't have kids and probably now grandkids--if I did have some----I would strongly urge them to learn Cantonese and Mandarin----get a degree in international business or finance and say good bye to the USA to go live in someplace like Singapore or Hong Kong--those are the places of the future----I think that America's day is done for the most part.

[void()]

Well surprise, you found an atheist in the foxhole. :) I'm also a bit of a Humanist, and do reserve a right to some generalized form of spirituality. Just because I don't believe doesn't make it reality, nor does believing.

Always find it funny when folks start with America is Christian nation. Hello, Jefferson was only a deist, same with Washington, Paine and quite a few other founding fathers. Some were Masons. The point being they weren't all Christians. They left home nations because of a church as a matter fact.

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

There is a hell of alot of things not being taught in tex books nowdays, anyway. Certain parties and political factions are trying to portray history as They want it to be known, and many of us "Old Farts" arent going to let that happen. Our kids and Grandkids arent being given the straight scoop, and that's completely wrong. If you want to change something, fight for it. Dont let the real truth of history be forgotten or re-written for someone elses gain.
You'd be surprised how many times a day at one of my events I have to explain the names on the Traveling Wall, the rendition of the Vietnam Vets Memorial, and how many times a day I have to explain what the pins and patches I sell mean when young people read a remark about how Vietnam Vets feel about Jane Fonda. Its simply not taught anymore.
If you want an eye opener, glance throught one of you kids or grandkids text books....you'll see a great many things left out.
Since when was the Alamo omited from history, or the Boston Tea party? Why is Iwo Jima just given a small blurb in the history books, and why was the story of the H-bomb given just one paragraph?
Look it up folks..I think you'll be vastly surprised at what you see....:disgust:

[Long Duck Dong]

there are people that will say, hell no, only what we believe, should be taught in schools... and yet, the same people are the ones that would do their lid over people that will move to only have selected subjects and topics taught in schools....

who best can decide would kids learn, the people that are pro teaching some subjects over other subjects or the people that try to stop the teaching of subjects that are contradicting their personal viewpoints....

[darkeyes]

Interesting.. the fact is the controlling political elite in society will always have children educated into what their particular slant on history is.. whether it be from right or left.. things are taught then not taught then taught differently then differently again..facts are changed to suit the version those in charge of education wish imparted into children and so endeavour to create the world they wish to see by creating children with their vision and their political standpoint.. its a reality we cant get away from.. should it be? No.. can we ever change it? Not in this lifetime.. subjectiveness will out.. we can get some things added back into the classroom, or some things we do not think are right taken out, but ultimately, it is those with political control who will decide what our children are taught.. the best we can hope for is that by our efforts we attain for our children the best and most accurate history education we can.. but allowing for the reality of who is in charge at any moment in time..it will always be contentious and always innacurate to a great degree..

I do however think there is an argument to be made for no history to be taught in schools at all for the very reasons I have outlined..and that people should grow up and read and learn from those true scholars of history..but that too is always subjective is it not? But it is a personal subjectiveness of the author not of a political controlling elite..

[FalconAngel]

There is a petition to be signed to try to motivate the publishers to stand up to the Dominion Christian agenda on this one. Sorry that the links didn't come over on my original post.

As Many of you that know me may already know, I loathe revisionist history, so I immediately signed the petition. Our kids need to learn the right and wrong of what we have done, for no other reason than to not repeat our mistakes and the mistakes of our ancestors, both here in this country and around the world.

Here is the petition link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/dont_let_texas_rewrite_history?alert_id=jfFqCymLzp _RAXPJYGZIw

[12voltman59]

I used to post these cartoons up kind of regularly---maybe I should do it more---the cartoonist who creates this cartoon from my perspective usually seems to hit the nail on the head of whatever topic he is dealing with, this week's edition deals with this topic:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/TomTomorrowMarch26.jpg

I did hear it reported earlier this week that some southern politico had been mentioning the textbook stuff and had mentioned the changes being made in regards to The Civil War--but even instead of calling it the normal, old time name southerners gave this war---The War Between the States--he called it the "War of Northern Aggression"-----as Steve Martin used to say----"Weellllll Exxxxxxcccccccuuuuusssseeeeee MMMMMMeeeeee!" It was the south that fired the first shots and drew the first of much blood that was spilled on both sides in that long and nasty war.

[TwylaTwobits]

You know I've always maintained if you want to take the prayer out of school you don't need a federal law (we have it, doesn't work) you only need to stop teachers from giving "pop quizes".

Now what is really annoying about this is that a lot of history is mutable in the US, the children are taught what the government wants them taught and it's up to the parents to teach anything outside the books. What will be lost are the ordinary heroes....the people who make a difference everyday. No one starts out wanting to be a footnote in history. Rosa Parks didn't plan to be the catalyst for the Civil Rights movement. She was just too damned tired to care if they killed her.

I remember reading that in her biography and thinking that you never know what your actions are going to bring. At this point in time America has sent a lot of money overseas rebuilding a country we destroyed for "it's part" in attacking us on 9/11. China is the next super power, economically stable. It won't be military might that will win the world, it will be pure and simple the power of money.

[12voltman59]

Well--if the sorts of things that are in the Texas textbooks made it to where I am--and I had kids--being on the "liberal" side of things--I would homeschool my kids so I could teach them the sorts of things I think they should know to be half way intelligent functioning people who can make up their own minds on things----I do agree that either way the winds blow when it comes to educational and ideological philosophies----the government does try to put its imprint on what the students learn to too great a degree.

For some of the more scientific/mathematical/technical kind of stuff I would have to rely on some other source since I am not so good in those areas--hopefully my wife or partner would be good in those areas, but for the humanities, arts, language and literature--I would try my hand at that--and teach my kids "liberal arts" in the classic sense that had been done for hundreds of years. It did seem to be a pretty good foundation for helping to foster people who were quite smart.

Actually--just like for people on the right who can get packaged programs for homeschooling--there are such packages now available for those of us on the liberal side of things so we can homeschool our kids too, so you are not flying alone trying to reinvent the wheel. Most of those packages---they more or less correlate grade level by grade level to the curricula that the states follow since most states do require homeschoolers to hit certain levels of proficiency just like kids going to public or private schools.

Sure as shootin'-if the Texas crap they are talking about is for real--I sure as hell would not let my kids be taught to that dumbed down sort of stuff--to think that they want to remove teaching about Thomas Jefferson because they consider him too liberal and that they try to deny that we have a policy of seperation of church and state in thsi country--one of the guest panelist members on Bill Maher this evening said that removing mention of Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, from our history books would be like taking Moses out of the old testament of the Bible---those bible thumpers would sure not stand for that!!!

In my area though--we do have one private school that is of a "liberal/progressive" type--but it costs big bucks to send each kid there each year--if money allowed--I'd probably opt for doing that. Not far away too is a town that it still a small oasis of "liberalism" and the public schools in that town would teach more to my liking--so both of those would be an option. They sure as hell are not going to use a Texas approved textbook!! They will make their own textbooks if necessary!!

[darkeyes]

In my area though--we do have one private school that is of a "liberal/progressive" type--but it costs big bucks to send each kid there each year--if money allowed--I'd probably opt for doing that. Not far away too is a town that it still a small oasis of "liberalism" and the public schools in that town would teach more to my liking--so both of those would be an option. They sure as hell are not going to use a Texas approved textbook!! They will make their own textbooks if necessary!!

Trouble with that Voltie is that those textbooks would be equally as subjective as those we are discussing originating in Texas.. you may approve but those who are not of your political persuasion will carp and kick up a fuss when they find out what your side is and isn't teaching.. the area you are talking about may be liberal, but its a fair bet it still has many citizens who are anything but.. and when Ronald Reagan is omitted, and George Bush Junior's Presidency is looked upon in an unpleasant light to give just two possible examples, then those right wing conservative parents will soon come out of the woodwork, the media will take an interest and those who have produced such a textbook will be pilloried for disloyalty and even treachery to the memory of two "great" Presidents...

Its just how it works Voltie..

[TwylaTwobits]

And the same in every country, Fran. It gets to the point that education is less about learning than about indoctrination into a society that you may or may not be better off joining.

[darkeyes]

And the same in every country, Fran. It gets to the point that education is less about learning than about indoctrination into a society that you may or may not be better off joining.

Wy u think the Brits in general, an the English in particular seem 2 think they a lil bit betta than ne 1 else,an wy do many think the Empire wos such a brill thing an wos 'bout civilisin the world an not enslavin it an plunderin its riches?? Wy is ther so much resentment in me own country 2 ward the English? Wy dus Britain an France hav so much antipathy? Wy dus Turkey hav so much trubble acceptin ther responsibility in the attempted genocide of the Armenians? Wy u think the Japanese still don kno 2 much bout the reality a WW2 an reelly struggle acceptin responsibility for its part in the carnage an the atrocities they committed? Wy do 'mericans feel so morally superior 2 ev otha nation wen it cums 2 freedom? Wy dus Iran hav so much resentment 2ward the west? History is invariably written in a jaundiced manna 2 show a people in ther best lite an othas as shady.. sum historians can reach above that prejudice, lots cant.. an ver rarely peeps who commission an rite school textbooks an r responsible for the teachin a history 2 our kids..

[TwylaTwobits]

I've been around people from other countries, thanks to the internet and my recent travels, for a long time. I have found the way any other country views mine to be eye opening. The same as my view on other countries. But as we have learned history is written by the victors, and what they want to share is what will be remembered while others struggle to maintain their oral history and pass it down to future generations.


I don't feel any nation is superior or inferior to any other, they are just another nation. America has lost something in translation when trying to apply the Constitution to things that happen today. Pretty sad the very last thing added was an amendment regarding equal wages for women. We fought a war for freedom back in the 1860's, yet the people we freed were much worse off after the North won the Civil War. It was many many years later that blacks were given the right to vote. Even before women were given the right to vote. Does that make us morally superior? No, says to me at times Americans are slow learners. The value of any person is not in the color of their skin or the way they worship, it's in their minds. And a mind is a terrible thing to waste (thanks to NAACP for that being stuck in my head since I was little).

[darkeyes]

I've been around people from other countries, thanks to the internet and my recent travels, for a long time. I have found the way any other country views mine to be eye opening. The same as my view on other countries. But as we have learned history is written by the victors, and what they want to share is what will be remembered while others struggle to maintain their oral history and pass it down to future generations.


I don't feel any nation is superior or inferior to any other, they are just another nation. America has lost something in translation when trying to apply the Constitution to things that happen today. Pretty sad the very last thing added was an amendment regarding equal wages for women. We fought a war for freedom back in the 1860's, yet the people we freed were much worse off after the North won the Civil War. It was many many years later that blacks were given the right to vote. Even before women were given the right to vote. Does that make us morally superior? No, says to me at times Americans are slow learners. The value of any person is not in the color of their skin or the way they worship, it's in their minds. And a mind is a terrible thing to waste (thanks to NAACP for that being stuck in my head since I was little)...an in ther hearts, Twyla.. for wivout the heart the most brilliant mind is but an underused tool an a tragic waste.. me dad taught me that...:)

[TwylaTwobits]

Yep and their hearts. But what some don't understand is sometimes true wisdom is not in knowing what to say, it's when to say it.

[rdy2go]

Got this in the e-mail today:


Don't Let Texas Rewrite History

If you thought that decisions made by the Texas State Board of Education don't affect you, think again.

Led by right-wing ideologues, the Texas board recently gave preliminary approval to a plan that would radically change what children across the country learn in history class.

The ultra-conservative majority on the board — many of whom are explicitly anti-science and believe that the United States is a "Christian nation" — took the curricula proposed by teachers and made over a hundred changes, questioning the separation between church and state and diminishing the role of women and minorities.

But it gets worse. Since Texas is one of the largest textbook markets in the country, material written to cater to the Texas curricula will find its way into textbooks across the country unless textbook publishers take a stand.

We can't allow a small group of extreme ideologues on the Texas State Board of Education to re-write history. Click here to tell textbook publishers to stand up to Texas extremists.

Children who use textbooks conforming to the new standards will not learn anything about the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson or his thoughts on the separation of church and state. When they learn about the Civil War, they'll have to study Jefferson Davis' inaugural address alongside Abraham Lincoln's. And when they study the civil rights movement they'll have to learn about the "unintended consequences" of affirmative action and Title IX.

In a particularly glaring rewriting of history, when reading about Joe McCarthy students will be told that he was right all along about communist infiltration into the U.S. government.

This is outrageous. We will have failed our children and imperiled our future if we cannot teach accurate history. We can't let far-right ideologues co-opt our educational system.

Click here to tell the textbook publishers: Don't let Texas rewrite history.

Thank you for standing up for the American educational system.

- The Change.org Team in partnership with CREDO Action

I heard a radio documentary on this very subject a few days ago, in it they also said that California, the other big market, has the same impact on the publishers and distribution of the text books, however California isn't a player right now they are broke so it is all Texas. I cannot comment on the validity of the content being published because I am not as well versed in American history as I could be, however, as they we talking about the pros and cons of this situation on the radio it was mentioned that not only do these text books affect the entire USA, they also affect how American history is taught in Canadian schools. So if American history is being "adjusted" (for lack of a better term) to suit a particular group, then our kids will not get educated properly about our friends to the south, that is shame. It also makes me wonder if my limited education in American history is accurate. Has Texas always had this amount of influence over the national curriculum in the USA? Does it mean that Daniel Boone didn't have a giant ox? Oh no!!!! ( I had to put that in there, lol.) I have a kid who is in Highschool and taking American history as an elective subject, it is cause for concern. It seems that Canadians who want to learn about American history are at the mercy of the writers of the texts as much as the students in the USA.

[MarieDelta]

**looks at calendar**

Hmm...It says 2010, but it feels like 1984 again...

[Long Duck Dong]

a person once said about mistaking education for intelligence....

we teach children the basics of education, but we as adults are intelligent enuf to know that what they can be taught is not always the truth....
what they are taught is the basics of education, the baseline needed to open up their ability to purse further learning

school has changed since I went to school in the 80's ... the baseline of education has changed.... the requirement for schooling has shifted as technology and advancements in history, has grown, but there is another aspect..... its called the truth.

in nz, ( and yes I know its not the us, but the same issue applies ) we have the official information act, and under that act, documents and other records have come to light that reveal that a lot of what was taught to us and our parents was not the truth..... so what we feel is right based on history ...is often wrong..... and so our education was faulty, but we were intelligent enuf to learn the truth.....

now back to the school lessons, what we were taught was history at that stage, now for our child and our childrens children, there is another 20-30 years of history to teach as well
what has not changed, is the amount of time available to teach that extra history.....

so once again, the school system can be faulty with what they teach.... as no school system is perfect, but as long as the kids have the intelligence to see that the truth is out there, they will find it.... and the biggest obstacle to learning, is not a faulty education system, its a closed mind......

I failed school, in a faulty school system..... but my knowledge and understanding of history was not impaired by my inability to handle a school room, it was hindered by the people that wanted to dictate the terms of my learning the truth....
they are the people with the closed minds that can not see that there is many ways to understand and learn things, and they are the ones that would have our children immersed in a education system and can affect a persons intelligence level and the ability to learn the truth and realise that the truth is subject to ones own perception

[FalconAngel]

I heard a radio documentary on this very subject a few days ago, in it they also said that California, the other big market, has the same impact on the publishers and distribution of the text books, however California isn't a player right now they are broke so it is all Texas. I cannot comment on the validity of the content being published because I am not as well versed in American history as I could be, however, as they we talking about the pros and cons of this situation on the radio it was mentioned that not only do these text books affect the entire USA, they also affect how American history is taught in Canadian schools. So if American history is being "adjusted" (for lack of a better term) to suit a particular group, then our kids will not get educated properly about our friends to the south, that is shame. It also makes me wonder if my limited education in American history is accurate. Has Texas always had this amount of influence over the national curriculum in the USA? Does it mean that Daniel Boone didn't have a giant ox? Oh no!!!! ( I had to put that in there, lol.) I have a kid who is in Highschool and taking American history as an elective subject, it is cause for concern. It seems that Canadians who want to learn about American history are at the mercy of the writers of the texts as much as the students in the USA.

It has been a problem here for almost 70 years.

I hadn't realized that Canada's education system was that closely tied to ours.

For those that are interested, there is a book that should be read. It is not very complimentary of our perception of our nation, but it is honest.

It is called "Lies My Teacher Told Me". It is enlightening, to say the least, and shocking in it's clarification of just how much our history has already been revised to suit ethnocentric, political and personal agendas.

[darkeyes]

It has been a problem here for almost 70 years.

I hadn't realized that Canada's education system was that closely tied to ours.

For those that are interested, there is a book that should be read. It is not very complimentary of our perception of our nation, but it is honest.

It is called "Lies My Teacher Told Me". It is enlightening, to say the least, and shocking in it's clarification of just how much our history has already been revised to suit ethnocentric, political and personal agendas.
Im not sure Rdy was saying the education system of Canada is that closely tied to yours Falcie.. think he was saying that they rely on American history textbooks for the teaching of American history..

.. anyway.. what suprises me is the hoohah this has caused... as if people hadn't realised that the teaching of history as a subject in schools was so open to abuse.. its hardly news to anyone who has half a brain in their head.. how do you stop it? You can't..not entirely.. you can fiddle with where your history comes from, who writes the textbooks and what you are supposed to teach, but it will always be someone elses interpretation of history, and someone elses decision on what children should be told.. and history, as with religious teaching in schools, is so open to abuse by those who run the system.. should it be taught at all?

[MarieDelta]

Im not sure Rdy was saying the education system of Canada is that closely tied to yours Falcie.. think he was saying that they rely on American history textbooks for the teaching of American history..

.. anyway.. what suprises me is the hoohah this has caused... as if people hadn't realised that the teaching of history as a subject in schools was so open to abuse.. its hardly news to anyone who has half a brain in their head.. how do you stop it? You can't..not entirely.. you can fiddle with where your history comes from, who writes the textbooks and what you are supposed to teach, but it will always be someone elses interpretation of history, and someone elses decision on what children should be told.. and history, as with religious teaching in schools, is so open to abuse by those who run the system.. should it be taught at all?

We need to teach history - People like holocaust deniers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial) and others out there depend on ignorance. Education is the key to understanding the world around us without it or with a pale version of it it's not hard to tell where we would end up.


It's just like any other issue - To get the truth out there depends on people getting and staying involved. Otherwise this is what we get, or worse.

[TwylaTwobits]

I remember vividly reading "The Diary of Anne Frank" as a freshman in AP Lit. That account of the persecution against Jews was extremely moving when you are yourself a young person and can completely imagine the hopes and dreams and then the reality...

As I said before history is written by the victors, in this case it was something documented that the losers want it downplayed. Things like this can get people very passionate both for and against, but in the end the result is the same. 5-6million Jewish people disappeared from this world.

[chuck1124]

An interesting discussion. but, remember, this is American History. Is there a slant that is pro-America? Of course, this is America. Everyone seems to glorify Jefferson because he was a diest. But, if you read the Declaration of Independence, there are so many references to God. Would it be best to tell how Jefferson, supposedly, knocked up his slaves (that was proven not to be true) and forget that he was one of our Founding Father? Should we emphasize that Washington was a slave holder, but neglect to mention how he freed his slaves at his death and that he did so much to lead this new-born country?

I think not. Like it or not, America is quite different to many other coutries. My appologies to some of my European friends. History will always be subjective. But the current teaching certainly is different from what I learn back in the "Dark Ages." What is wrong with teaching History that is pro-America in America. Don't they teach history of Ireland or England that is pro-Irish, or pro-English? There sure is enough anti-America to make up for it.

[darkeyes]

An interesting discussion. but, remember, this is American History. Is there a slant that is pro-America? Of course, this is America. Everyone seems to glorify Jefferson because he was a diest. But, if you read the Declaration of Independence, there are so many references to God. Would it be best to tell how Jefferson, supposedly, knocked up his slaves (that was proven not to be true) and forget that he was one of our Founding Father? Should we emphasize that Washington was a slave holder, but neglect to mention how he freed his slaves at his death and that he did so much to lead this new-born country?

I think not. Like it or not, America is quite different to many other coutries. My appologies to some of my European friends. History will always be subjective. But the current teaching certainly is different from what I learn back in the "Dark Ages." What is wrong with teaching History that is pro-America in America. Don't they teach history of Ireland or England that is pro-Irish, or pro-English? There sure is enough anti-America to make up for it.
History is not pro or anti anything.. it just is.. as best we can we should ensure if history is taught that is as honest and truthful as we can make it.. yes it is subjective.. but we should strive to make it much less so.. the teaching dishonestly of history to anyone is a dangerous thing at any time...dishonestly taught to children is dangerous and potentially catastrophic and an act of gross irresponsibility..

[FalconAngel]

An interesting discussion. but, remember, this is American History. Is there a slant that is pro-America? Of course, this is America. Everyone seems to glorify Jefferson because he was a diest.

And having an American slant in American history is okay, to a point. You cannot ignore the thing that we did wrong, or worse, make them sound like we were the good guys when we were not. Like Wounded Knee, for instance.



But, if you read the Declaration of Independence, there are so many references to God.

Really?
What Declaration of Independence did you read?
Because the one that is in the National archives only has two minor references, only one of which that may be approximating a reference to "God", and those are;
"...and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them,..."

and;

"all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,...".

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

No reference to man's God/Gods; but reference to a creator and nature's God.


Would it be best to tell how Jefferson, supposedly, knocked up his slaves (that was proven not to be true) and forget that he was one of our Founding Father?

It would be good to tell the good and the bad about our founding fathers. The virtual deification done to them does them and this country no good.



Should we emphasize that Washington was a slave holder, but neglect to mention how he freed his slaves at his death and that he did so much to lead this new-born country? I think not.

Lot's of slave owners freed their slaves on their deathbed. Lots of slave owners screwed around with the slave women, too. That is not news.

As far as Washington; he was a great war hero, which is one of the reasons they wanted him to be our first national leader. But he fought nine battles in the Revolution and only won Three. Not exactly a great war record.

When the lie becomes legend, print the legend.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6731102750245618218#


Like it or not, America is quite different to many other countries. My appologies to some of my European friends. History will always be subjective. But the current teaching certainly is different from what I learn back in the "Dark Ages." What is wrong with teaching History that is pro-America in America. Don't they teach history of Ireland or England that is pro-Irish, or pro-English? There sure is enough anti-America to make up for it.

If we ignore the mistakes that we, as a nation, have made, then we will continue the dumbing down of our society and the propagandizing of our history.

We can only move forward, and not repeat our mistakes, if we can look back and see what we have done before; both good and bad.

I don't know about anyone else, here, but we have already repeated Vietnam in Iraq. One repeat of our mistakes is more than enough. Let's not allow revisionist history to put us in a position to do it all over and over again.