Because people use history. They use it to persuade. They use it to justify. They use it to convince themselves that what they are doing is correct, that it's supported by respected individuals form the past, that its virtue and rectitude is demonstrated by lessons from our forefathers.
And when you make shit up, or distort it, you not only tarnish our heritage and weaken what the pasdt has actually taught us, you insult reality, and make it so that nobody can trust anything except the voices mouthing the words and lessons they want to hear.
That's why bad history and the propaganda it represents is a bad thing. And nobody's doing that more obviously these days than David Barton.
Reshared post from +George Wiman
Before I knew who David Barton was, I had a long online debate with my best friend from college, and his Barton-influenced view of US history was so weirdly skewed, and he was so confident of it, that I ended up feeling defeated and sad. Because his understanding of US history supported a social view that I now find repugnant, and I had lost a friend. I am reasonably well aware in US History, and I couldn't figure out where he was coming from.
So why does Barton matter? Because he is the go-to guy for an extremist right-wing bizarro version of US history, praised and cited by candidates who want our country to return to a past that never was. Be aware of Barton, and don't get blindsided!
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Barton Using Material From Novels Now
Chris Rodda catches David Barton using a story out of a Louis L’Amour novel in arguing that not only should teachers in schools be armed, but so should students. Because a character in a Loui…
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