Donald Trump and maga Republicans revise history to suit their own ignorant opinions but they cannot erase the truth
Echo opinion letters published in the Boston Globe:
Whitewashing American history by scrubbing information that depicts the events and personalities that shaped it does not erase it.
Donald Trump’s desire to portray America’s greatness, while omitting or minimizing the mistakes our nation has made along the way concerning slavery, the genocide of indigenous peoples, and other sorry chapters, is an attack on our national memory.
The facts exist. Scholarly research has laid them out in books, film, and various media that will endure beyond this administration. In 1789, this country established a Republic with a Constitution designed to “form a more perfect union.” The American experiment seeks a perfection that it may never fully achieve. Its greatness, however, lies in the constant pursuit of the lofty principles to which it aspires.
The country has made progress on many of those goals, but occasionally it backslides. Looking backward to a nostalgic, if mythical, past, instead of looking forward, is counterproductive.
A nation cannot move forward if it cannot acknowledge its mistakes, learn from them, and commit to avoiding those pitfalls in order to create a brighter future based on justice, freedom, and a government that acknowledges the worth of all of its people and their contributions to the American story.
From William J. Santoro in Winchester, Massachusetts
“American history, as edited by Trump” describes a shameful travesty — the denial of the full nature of American history — for which taxpayers are footing the bill. When the wealthiest nation on earth chooses not to maintain programs that support health care, food stamp benefits, and the like, while paying to post signs at the Smithsonian Institution and national parks, among other places, denying the realities of our nation’s history, we are all victims of an effort to implement the trappings of authoritarianism.
The facts exist. Scholarly research has laid them out in books, film, and various media that will endure beyond this administration. In 1789, this country established a Republic with a Constitution designed to “form a more perfect union.” The American experiment seeks a perfection that it may never fully achieve. Its greatness, however, lies in the constant pursuit of the lofty principles to which it aspires.
The country has made progress on many of those goals, but occasionally it backslides. Looking backward to a nostalgic, if mythical, past, instead of looking forward, is counterproductive.
A nation cannot move forward if it cannot acknowledge its mistakes, learn from them, and commit to avoiding those pitfalls in order to create a brighter future based on justice, freedom, and a government that acknowledges the worth of all of its people and their contributions to the American story.
From William J. Santoro in Winchester, Massachusetts
“American history, as edited by Trump” describes a shameful travesty — the denial of the full nature of American history — for which taxpayers are footing the bill. When the wealthiest nation on earth chooses not to maintain programs that support health care, food stamp benefits, and the like, while paying to post signs at the Smithsonian Institution and national parks, among other places, denying the realities of our nation’s history, we are all victims of an effort to implement the trappings of authoritarianism.
From Allan C. Greenberg in Bethel, Vermont
Labels: Allan C. Greenberg, Bethel, Boston Globe, Massachusetts, Vermont, William J. Santoro, Winchester
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 9:48 AM
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