History is a fickle thing. We of Britain know all about Germany's war atrocities in the second World War, but what do we know of the events across on the other side of the world. From what little I've gleaned from the scandalous sources of scurrilous bestsellers and movies, the Japanese empire were even worse, but we're none the wise. History is taught geographically and not morally, alas. With a whole world to choose from, and thousands of years of British history, what do we choose? Hitler's Germany and Henry VIII.
What could we teach in history, if we but had the courage? What about the discovery of the Americas? What about the Crusades, or the changing status of Parliament and the Crown? What about the short-lived samurai era of Japan, or the pressures that caused that brief bubble that was the Old West. There is so much to think about that you wonder how it could even be taught at all. What about the Moon Landings, or the Cuban Missile Crisis? What about the Korean War and the cold war between the USA and China? What about our Cold War in the early 1900s?
Looking back, the only things I remember from History class are Hitler's Germany, one variety of castle, and maybe something to with the aforementioned portly monarch with dubious marital protocols. It's pretty telling that almost all I know about the late Queen Mother is from the movie 'The King's Speech'! What will be the things that are taught from this era of history, if anything. Will Trump be a talking point in fifty years time - hopefully not, as that would imply some kind of impending disaster - or the EU exit? Since history curricula are always written from either a trivially obsessed neutral point of view or in a highly biased political frame, who will be deciding it anyway?
Sometime in the future, someone will be sifting through current events, and most of the things happening now will have led to nothing of any particular import. The EU Exit will have become inconsequential, President Trump will have been the nail in the coffin of the old corrupt system but will have done very little in office (we hope), and things will have continued much as before. It might all be about climate change, the vacuousness of society in the early twenty-first century, or the Reign of the Artificial Intelligences. Humanity will have to wait to find out.
Who does decide what received history should be? Almost always the people you wouldn't choose?
O.
Great post again! you just mentioned out the valid and comprehensive points on history. The questions you raised are critical and i think every one should think on this and ask theirselves that what they learnt from the history. Is they are getting something positive?
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