Dealing with history

History has become the hot topic lately. Although I wonder if that’s really new. I don’t think it is actually. People have been fighting over history for a long time.

The book “1984” is a dystopian novel in which history is actively changed to suit the needs of the regime in charge. It was published in 1949. Authoritarian regimes have done this same thing for as long as there have been authoritarian regimes.

There are arguments around the King James Bible translation related to this. There are verses of Scripture that are translated differently (or completely missing) from other translations all because they would have been inconvenient for King James to deal with.

There’s debate among scholars about Scripture itself — how much of parts of the Old Testament could be considered rewrites of history in order to suit whoever was king at the time — a type of holy propaganda. The most famous part being the story about king Josiah “finding” Deuteronomy in the Temple and using it to restore right religious practice. Josiah is remembered as one of the few good kings of Judah. How much of that is accurate is anyone’s guess.

History has been debated throughout American history. Think about all the rewrites and myth that goes along with the founding fathers.

When we get to the Civil War, and especially after, there is plenty of rewriting of history that goes on — mostly around the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.