At the risk of flogging a dead horse (or turkey?) let me point out that my "truth" comment was a joke, and I absolutely don't agree with the article that was referenced at the beginning of this thread.
But, as a history major and amateur historian I always try to be open to new ideas and to challenge received wisdom.
I grew up in the south in the 60's. Things were very simple then: cowboys good, Indians bad (except for that little episode where they put down their war axes and fed the Pilgrims). Americans good, Japanese and Germans bad. Robert E. Lee good, U.S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln VERY VERY bad. Lester Maddox and George Wallace good, Martin Luther King bad. And so on.
As times change, so does our perception of history. (I refrain from using the word "truth" here.) Is this "revisionism" or "correction"? For some people revisionism conjures up an image of PC gone amok, but if there's a better word for re-imagining the past based on new information, I'm all for it.
But, as a history major and amateur historian I always try to be open to new ideas and to challenge received wisdom.
I grew up in the south in the 60's. Things were very simple then: cowboys good, Indians bad (except for that little episode where they put down their war axes and fed the Pilgrims). Americans good, Japanese and Germans bad. Robert E. Lee good, U.S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln VERY VERY bad. Lester Maddox and George Wallace good, Martin Luther King bad. And so on.
As times change, so does our perception of history. (I refrain from using the word "truth" here.) Is this "revisionism" or "correction"? For some people revisionism conjures up an image of PC gone amok, but if there's a better word for re-imagining the past based on new information, I'm all for it.
I agree with you. I often wonder what REALLY went on way back when. Accounts of fishermen on the eastern coast of what is now the US way before the pilgrims or even Columbus point more to the Irish. I would really like to know what the real history of the Irish ancestors travel was before the English recordings came into effect. (Trying to be polite here.
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