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.