Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

This Matters with Bill Britt

History does not belong to power

When government decides which history is acceptable, the question is no longer the past but who controls national memory today.

The danger begins when argument becomes decree.

History should be questioned, debated and challenged. But the dispute over the Smithsonian raises a larger question: What happens when political power begins deciding which parts of the American story are acceptable?

In this installment of “This Matters,” Bill Britt examines the line between debating history and allowing government to become the editor of national memory. America’s story contains extraordinary achievement and profound injustice, and a confident nation should be strong enough to confront both.

Subscribe to “This Matters with Bill Britt” on YouTubeSpotifyApple or anywhere you get your podcasts.

The Alabama Political Reporter is a daily political news site devoted to Alabama politics. We provide accurate, reliable coverage of policy, elections and government.

Advertisement
Advertisement

More from APR

This Matters with Bill Britt

Propaganda succeeds not only by spreading falsehoods, but by exhausting our confidence that truth can ever be known or defended.

This Matters with Bill Britt

When facts, law, principle and shared humanity lose their authority, self-government gives way to the raw exercise of political power.

This Matters with Bill Britt

The Burr-Hamilton clash showed how humiliation and revenge could turn public rivalry into private ruin, leaving a republic with nothing gained.

This Matters with Bill Britt

Historical memory helps citizens recognize abused power, defend established rights and understand when institutions are being changed around them today.