Rewriting History: A Commentary on a Society's Lost Education

An old boyfriend used to say to me that the victor rewrites the history books. That is an old saying that seems to ring truer in our ears during these trying times. The old adage occurred to me this morning while listening to NPR's feature of Trout Fishing in America. The group performed a song about Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. Of course the song was my cue to muse.

I want to preface what I have to share by saying that these Civil Rights leaders are indispensable to our understanding of our history here in the U. S. But I'm concerned at the rate the figures are presented as the most important parts of our history and fascinated by the malleability of history.

More than a year ago, I interviewed a Columbia man who collects military memorabilia. I will never forget his statement that if you want to get a pure sense of the history you're studying, you need to read the history books of the day. And I am convinced that the histories of Joseph Conrad, who lived the Belgian Congo, and George Orwell, who knew the imperialism of the British via his experience as a British agent and others will always outlive those history books that are discounted as "dated." It makes a girl wonder not about the additions to the books, but about the subtle changes that can be made from edition to edition. After all, we are a forgetful people.

The question I'm dying to have answered is how the future will treat the histories of King and Parks. And I wonder, will our Founding Fathers be forgotten altogether?