Some of you might find this interesting:
History News Network | Sex object, germ killer, battleground – the wonderful history of the beard.
history
History News Network | Why History Matters
Charles Spencer writes about a very intriguing period of English history in Killers of the King. It was a time of religious conflict between the Calvinistic Puritans in Parliament and the Catholic-sympathizing Stuart monarchy at a time when the Protestant Church of England was the nominally established church. It was also partly a power struggle between Parliament and the Stuart monarchs (first James I and then his son Charles I), who seemed too fond of absolute monarchies. It was in this context that some powerful members of Parliament decided to try and behead Charles I as a traitor. Spencer insists that while “[t]his dramatic tale sounds far removed from today…it is not.” He explains: “Many of the killers of the king that I write about did what they did because they knew an obscure verse in the Old Testament Book of Numbers that justified their actions: it told them that, if a country is to end its bloodshed, “that Man of Blood” who started it all must be put to death. Organized religion still provides many with guidance that they believe to the end. Texts written many centuries earlier can be twisted to justify a course of action. History is about the past, but it resonates today. We never change. History is the story of man – past, present and future.” This is one reason, although not the only reason, why history matters.
History News Network | Why History Matters .
History News Network | The Censoring of History and Politics Takes Us Back to the Dark Ages
I agree with the historian Bruce Chadwick’s plea against the censoring of movies and other art forms because of their portrayals of history are objectionable, but I wouldn’t call it “the censoring of history.” These works of art were not meant to be accurate portrayals of history but creative interpretations of historical events meant to entertain or provoke. And how this “takes us back to the Dark Ages” is unclear. Nevertheless, Chadwick makes a good case against censorship of all forms of art. Read his entire article at:
History News Network | The Censoring of History and Politics Takes Us Back to the Dark Ages.
History News Network | The Forgotten Futility of Torture – An Analysis
I’m shocked that some Americans think that torture works! Even before I started studying history I thought that the issue was settled. After years of studying history I’m even more convinced that torture doesn’t work. The evidence does not support it. All it has done is spread human misery and suffering. Lawrence Davidson reminds us of the history that debunks the myth that torture works in his article “The Forgotten Futility of Torture – An Analysis.” I would like to believe that a familiarity with history could make a difference in changing minds, but I’m afraid that Davidson is correct when he concludes that “[n]o one has yet been able to secure a meaningful place for relevant and accurate historical knowledge either in the mind of the general public or in the deliberations of policy makers. However, in both cases, ignorance and false assumptions seem secure in their positions of influence.”
Please read his full essay on this topic at:
History News Network | The Forgotten Futility of Torture – An Analysis.
Assassin’s Creed: Unity’s Depiction of the French Revolution Is Very Controversial – The Atlantic
History News Network | Foreign Policy: Can’t Anybody Play this Game Better?
William R. Polk argues for a different kind of foreign policy: “The bottom line is avoiding aggression. Of course, we must defend ourselves. But, as recent history makes clear, defense and aggression often are hard to distinguish. What is defense to one is often aggression to the other. Mutual respect and mutual forbearance should be our objective. This is not, as Mrs. Thatcher would have said, to “go wobbly,” to appease, to pussyfoot or to be just weak-willed liberals. It may be a matter of life or death and certainly can help us avoid catastrophes. But, we should realize that adopting a strategy of avoiding conflict will often be difficult. Public angers are far easier to whip up than to dispel. Demagogues multiply like rabbits and sometimes we follow them like lemmings. All the polls tell us how ignorant we are as a people. And, looking around us, we must ask ourselves where we can find today the wise leaders we need to guide our actions. I confess that I cannot identify them.” I agree with Polk’s conclusion even though I come to it from a different historical perspective. Polk’s article is long but worth reading. We need to abandon our short-sighted, knee-jerk, punitive approach to foreign policy.
History News Network | Foreign Policy: Can’t Anybody Play this Game Better?.
History News Network | Who won the Civil War? These students at Texas Tech have no idea. (Video)
This is entertaining but very sad!
History News Network | Who won the Civil War? These students at Texas Tech have no idea. (Video).
History News Network | What the Opponents of the New AP Standards Don’t Get
The authors of The Idea of America argue for a history that “empowers students to become engaged citizens of our 21st century nation” rather than the patriotic history that the opponents of the new AP guidelines are pushing for. “Central to teaching and learning history must be the ability to evaluate opposing ideas, the quest to balance democratic values, and compromise in policymaking. This requires cultivating the ‘democratic mind’ in students and citizens. The democratic mind does not see the world in terms of “either/or.” It is more sophisticated, constantly seeking a way to reconcile values that seem at odds with each other.” I believe that this is a more engaging and productive way of teaching history than the patriotic version that relies on a myopic view of history.
History News Network | What the Opponents of the New AP Standards Don’t Get.
History News Network | The Founding Fathers Would Be Appalled at the Government’s Declining Support of Science
It is unfortunate that most Americans are unaware of how important government support of science and technology was to the Founding Fathers. I have not read Tom Shachtman’s book Gentleman Scientists but it’s on my list of must reads. At a minimum, I hope this book is successful in bringing attention to this important subject. If any of you have read it please let me know what you think.
A Challenge: Read Articles that You Disagree with on the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The History News Network (HNN) posted a list of online articles on the bombing of Hiroshima in honor of the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9). This list is a great resource for anyone interested in this topic. It includes a variety of articles on both sides of debate, including the one I responded to in a previous post (see “The Bombing of Hiroshima”). I contemplated whether or not I should link to this list on my blog because I knew that most people would be tempted to only read the articles that support whatever position they already hold. But in the end, I decided it was worth posting anyway. However, I challenge anyone who decides to use this resource to read the articles that you disagree with. If the exercise is to be valuable you should also read them with an open mind. I believe that an honest assessment of the situation is much more valuable than the comfort you would receive from the satisfaction of confirming currently held beliefs that may be grounded in myth. And no matter what position you currently hold, I hope a review of these articles will at least show that the popular belief about the bombing (“The bomb was dropped to end the war quickly and save American lives”) is an oversimplification of the issue that obscures the complexities and leads to unjustified certainties.
History Chick in AZ 