There is a saying, “The winners write the history.” While that may make sense, it is not necessarily true. Revisionists, of all types, often try to ‘change’ the recorded history to fit their narrative. In Synesthesia, I present history as it is written as well as some alternate history. I don’t try to rewrite the history that already exists, though I do examine it from a different perspective.
What we are seeing today are large groups trying to completely alter established facts. One example of this is the group that will not acknowledge the outcome of the November 2016 Presidential election. Instead of accepting the result, this group has attempted to focus on proving that the entire election was ‘illegitimate,' perhaps believing that it would install their candidate. That, of course, is not how the line of succession works, even if it were true. It seems that the ones who have lost are the ones attempting to write history. The question is, why is that so important?
Distortion of history is nothing new, and the reason behind it is usually the same. By controlling what people believe has been, you can often control what will be.
It might surprise you to know that the Wright Brothers were likely not the first men who had powered flight (that distinction probably goes to Gustave Whitehead.) The problem is, when the Wright family turned their plane over to the Smithsonian, it was with a contractual agreement that the museum would never declare another to have made the first such flight or the plane would be removed. History rewritten and codified.
By altering historical facts, the world went on to use the Wright Brothers as models for other powered flight. History has a direct effect on the future. A false historical narrative may influence generations into a particular way of thinking and certain beliefs, Hitler tried it in 1930’s and 1940’s Germany, and it almost worked. And, in that vein, there are even some, who will deny the holocaust ever happened, despite photographic and eyewitness testimony.
The danger of altering factual history is real. There is a terrorist army in the Middle East attempting to wipe out any trace of past civilization there. Why? Because, to them, history should start and stop with Muhammed and no one else, and if you wipe out that came before, who is to argue with you?
In the United States, we are tearing down statues and monuments. We are burying our own past, our own history, behind a politically correct narrative. I see this, and the only thing that runs through my mind is, “Welcome to the world of George Orwell.”
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