Political correctness
affects history
John Moon
An article in the Washington Post disturbed
me recently. It reported that the New Jersey Department of Education had
revised its history
standards. It added some names and deleted
a few from the list of historical figures who would be covered in the history
classes of the
state's public schools. These revisions
include the omission of some names one may or may not have heard before:
George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin
Franklin. The New Jersey Department of Education did this in the shining
name of
political correctness.
This is not political correctness — it
is revisionist history. These are three men who were formidable forces
in getting this nation off the
ground, but they won't be mentioned because
they have already received more press than other historical figures.
One of the names to be added into the curriculum
is that of Theodore Dwight Weld, who was an opponent of slavery during
the Civil
War. He is obviously a figure of note,
but why does the inclusion of his name and historical achievements mean
the omission of George
Washington's?
Yes, both George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson owned slaves, but those facts should be brought to light. History
will offend people.
In a thousand years we might all be gone,
but our history will most certainly offend those who come after us. The
new books should let
the truth of history decide who was important,
and they should not skew the facts so students will only get the history
we wish we had.
And we should never revise history so
it doesn't offend. Another thing the New Jersey Department of Education
is omitting from the
curriculum is the word "pilgrim." The
fear is that this label has certain religious connotations attached that
might offend those who abstain
from religion.
But those same children live in a country
that is oppressive enough to print "In God We Trust" on its currency. Maybe
someone should do
something about that pesky Declaration
of Independence, too. After all, doesn't it say something about unalienable
rights given by God?
It's unbelievable how many places that
"G-word" keeps rearing its ugly head.
The truth is that the first settlers who
came to this country were in search of religious freedom. That fact doesn't
change regardless of how
badly some people want it to. Neither
does the fact that Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
were so
fundamentally critical to the founding
of this nation that they should be given respectable space in history books
because of their
achievements.
Remaining true to the essence of historical
accuracy means that many of the great men who founded this nation and also
participated in
the cruel and barbaric act of slavery
should be taught about — even if it is embarrassing.
There is no way to escape the truth of
what actually happened in our history. Things happen, have happened and
will happen that we
don't like. But the point is that they
happened.
