Revisionist History
Rule of thumb #47: if someone claims that others are engaging in revisionist history, it is almost without doubt that the accuser is the one doing the revising.
“This nation acted to a threat from the dictator of Iraq. Now there are some who would like to rewrite history — revisionist historians is what I like to call them.”
–George W. Bush, June 16, 2003
“…we gave [Saddam Hussein] a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn’t let them in. And, therefore, after a reasonable request, we decided to remove him from power, along with other nations, so as to make sure he was not a threat to the United States and our friends and allies in the region.”
–George W. Bush, July 14, 2003
“Revisionist History” is hardly a new accusation; Republicans have been using it for a few decades now, whenever they want to repaint history to go with their policy. Unfortunately, the term is catching. The New York Times published an editorial about how revisionists are trying to show how dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima was a bad thing. Imagine that.
If you want to read the ultimate eaxample of why “revsionist historians” have such a negative reputation, try Robert Stinnett’s “Day of Infamy,” one person’s attempt to redescribe Pearl Harbor. From made-up quotes to horrible researched footnotes, one has a difficult time discerning where the facts leave off and Stinnett’s imagination kicks in. Books like this bode ill for the reputation of historians who search dilligently for the facts. Of course, Stinnett is not a historian. The publisher should be ashamed to permit such a book to be exploited under its name. But selling books still seems to reign over misquided and misused research.
You said it. But an even more immediate and just as dangerous revisionism are the politicians and pundits who try to revise history that just happened. Like Bush, when finding out that there were no WMD, first trying to say it was about liberating the Iraqi people, and now telling us that Iraq is the “new central front” in the war on terror.
The amazing thing is how many people believe it. 69% of Americans believe Hussein was behind 9/11! Not only without any evidence whatsoever to back it up, but with even the media telling people different on this one.
Amazing, and sad.