Please see this long but important New York Times article. Here's my favorite part:
"Marshall recommended that textbooks present America’s founding and history in terms of motivational stories on themes like the Pilgrims’ zeal to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the natives." (Emphasis mine).
This is sort of the topic of my thesis. I think it would be more accurate to say, "the Pilgrims' zeal to slaughter the hell out of the natives, which they justified by calling them 'Canaanites.'"
What's YOUR favorite part?
5 comments:
My favorite part? Oh goody. I think it might be...
"Marshall also proposed that children be taught that the separation-of-powers notion is "rooted in the Founding Father's clear understanding of the sinfulness of man," so that it was not safe for one person to exercise unlimited power..."
Oh no! Oh wait wait wait! Maybe its...
"One recurring theme during the process of revising the social-studies guidelines was the desire of the board to stress the concept of American exceptionalism, and the Christian bloc has repeatedly emphasized that Christianity should be portrayed as the driving force behind what makes America great."
No, wait...(I'm sorry it just keeps getting better). After all, maybe it's...
"...the guiding hand of Providence shapes America's story, starting with the voyage of Christopher Columbus. "Columbus's heart belonged to God," [Marshall] assures his readers, and he notes that a particular event in the explorer's life "marked the turning point of God's plan to use Columbus to raise the curtain on His new Promised Land."
Yeah, tell that to the thousands of Arawaks Columbus slaughtered in pursuit of the abundant gold he assured his financiers was in the Promised Land (which, by the way...DIDN'T EXIST).
Thanks, Marshall. You now have Howard Zinn rolling over in his grave. Zinn's sarcastic and !zing!ful response to Samuel Morrison's (a distinguished Harvard historian and C. Columbus expert) countless portrayals of Columbus's godly heart could also be directed at you and your plans for re-writing history for the future generation:
"Yes, mass murder took place, but it's not that important -it should weigh very little in our final judgements; it should affect very little what we do in the world" (Zinn 2003: 8).
Have you read Sarah Vowell's the Wordy Pilgrims?
I haven't, no.
N--Love how your comment is longer than the OP.
Sorry, Nico. I get really worked up about things.
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