The Universal Lie

Voltaire said that "history is the lie commonly agreed upon." This is a very powerful statement concerning history as a whole. What he is trying to get at is that history is merely a lie  which people believe are taught to be true. This is a crazy thing to say. How can we as the people of the present understand that the history we are being taught is false, and at the same time not do anything about this. It is not only Voltaire who feels this way, Napoleon Bonaparte is also quoted very similarly saying, "What then is, generally speaking, the truth of history? A fable agreed upon." It amazes me that teachers and parents teach their kids this history, and pass on the lie. Voltaire and Bonaparte both are trying to say that if enough people begin to believe that something is the truth, and begin passing on this message, eventually it will be accepted as true. This is insane. Do politicians write history? Should we as Americans, as free citizens of our great nation, not want to know the truth of the formation and struggle for freedom in our country and throughout the world. It is odd to think that some of the most influential men of our history have been giving us the same message and yet nothing has changed.

"Faking" it.

Recorded history is plagued with parts which are not fully or accurately told. Countries feel that bad pieces of their history do not need to be recorded. Examples of this are numerous; such as The Rape of Nanking in Japan, or the true settlement of the United States. The reasons for these blank spots in history can be understood; obviously a country does not want to talk about the negative pieces of their history, however without it, the future cannot fully develop. A commonly held belief is that we must learn from the past, in order to change the future. Yet, people continue to leave pieces of their history out. How our we, as the future generations of the world, suppose to change the future, if we do not have a full and accurate picture of the future. You would not teach a student how to multiple but not divide, and for the same reason you must not teach a student only part of the past. Journalists know the importance of not leaving out any piece of the truth; countries and historians must learn these values as well if we are to shape the future around the mistakes of the past.