Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Shifting Sands of American History





The Lincoln Memorial
 
What is History but an interpretation of facts for political aim? How can we trust a retrospective analysis of political figures when it's in certain people's interest to push their agenda through the prism of famous, or infamous, historical names and events. This article looks at the way American history is distorted and revised, viewed from one side or the other, how the narrative becomes an active playbook which informs modern policy. The American political obsession with legitimising itself by calling on examples from the past can and has meant that our views of their history are constantly being challenged, especially when viewed by the standards of today, rather than in historical context.




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