Lessons From History                      #180

By Hank Silverberg

I am reading a very interesting book right now. It's historical fiction, but the authors of "My Dear Hamilton," Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, assure their readers that the historical content of the book is as accurate as it could be. They say only the dialogue is made up.

(Courtesy of the Portrait Gallery) 

Alexander Hamilton, for sure, is one of the most misunderstood members of our founding fathers. The book, told from the perspective of his wife Eliza,  may give Mr. Hamilton more credit for the founding of our nation than most people would think he deserves.  

But research will bare out his key role in drafting  the U.S. Constitution and in creating the strong federal government we have today. He was a confidant of George Washington and the author of many of the Federalist Papers that were used to gain support for ratifying that document. He was a key player in creating the financial system that pulled the new nation's economy out of chaos.   

But if you ask most people what they know about Hamilton, they will first cite the Broadway hit musical bearing his name and then talk about his deadly duel with Aaron Burr. But not much else. 

This is just one instance where our education system has failed us. 

Here are a few other instances where half the story is missing: 

The United States was NOT born on July 4th, 1776. We did not become a real nation until the long Revolutionary War ended. Some would say that happened at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781, when it truth it happened in 1783 when Great Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris officially ending the war. And the country struggled to survive during the next 70 years. That included at least one armed insurrection  (The Whiskey Rebellion 1791-94), another war with Great Britain in 1812 and factional political fights that eventually lead to civil war.   

Say the name George Armstrong Custer and many people will opine on the flamboyant, ambitious and reckless General who lead his 7th Calvary to their death against the Sioux Nation at the Little Big Horn in 1876. That's true. But there is also the flamboyant and ambitious General Custer who led a Michigan Calvary Regiment straight into 5,000 of J.E.B. Stewart's Calvary on the third day at Gettysburg. Custer was able to cut off a flanking movement that could have made a success of George Pickett's charge and turned a Confederate loss in the Civil War's biggest battle into a Confederate victory. You don't read much about that, even in accounts of the battle.  

Ask the average person what the "Trail of Tears"

(Trail of Tears rendition, courtesy of seerandolphcounty.com) 

was and they will go totally blank. They know nothing of the forced relocation of 60,000 native Americans from their ancestral homeland in the southeast to what is now Oklahoma between 1830 and 1850.Thousands died during the forced march.  

There are many more historical events that have been either distorted or ignored. 

Distorted: 

The myth of the First Thanksgiving. 

The Myth of the Lost Cause, which claims, among other things, that the Civil War was about "state's rights" and not slavery. 

Ignored:

The complicity of New York and New England merchants in the "molasses to rum to slaves"  triangle in Colonial and early American years  

The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

The Bonus Army of 1932 and its violent dispersal.

The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two.

The list could fill a book, though I am not schooled in history enough to write it.  So why do I bring all this up?

Much of what we know about Hamilton, Custer, the Trail of Tears and the others I mentioned come from official documents of the time or writings or testimony by witnesses to the events. Historians cull through them all, check on their authenticity and then decide what to call history and what to reject. Then history teachers, following guidelines from mostly conservative state and local school boards, have to decide what to pass on to our children. It's a bit more scholarly at the university level, but there is still that selective nature. 

I worry that when historians start writing books about the events that occurred in my lifetime, that they will be filled with myths, distortions and fake information that currently proliferates the internet or self-serving books by political outcasts. I have already seen this in books written about the 60's and 70's on events like Watergate or the Vietnam War. As we learned during the Trump years, even official documents can be filled with disinformation. It is a frightening thought. So I bring up my favorite quote:   

"Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it."

 Don't ask me who said that originally. Historians disagree.    

The Asiatic Black Bear

Another species may be threatened by climate change. The Asiatic Black Bear, which once ranged

from the Himalayas to Germany and France, is threatened with extinction by habitat loss and poaching. The International Union For Conservation and Nature says land development, agriculture and deforestation have already taken their toll. Now climate change is fragmenting the bear's habitat, forcing them into isolated pockets where breeding becomes more difficult. 

 A study out this month indicates the bears have lost 30,000 square miles of habitat within just eight countries in Asia. That has increased what the study called "human-bear conflict," which also could threaten the bear population. It is a specific problem in Nepal, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar, among other countries. The bears have been forced to higher ground. 

Asiatic black bear habitat to shrink by area the size of Belgium (thethirdpole.net)

The study involved only the Asiatic Black Bear, but it may be indicative of what some other species may face as our climate grows warmer, and there is no doubt among climate scientists that it is growing warmer. The Asiatic Black Bear is often called the "moon bear" because of the white crescent-shaped mark on it's chest.  

The Pandemic Is NOT Over

Are you vaccinated? Do you wear a mask? Have you resumed your life as if the pandemic is over?

These are all questions that can get a nasty response from anyone you ask among the pandemic-weary public.

(This serial killer is still on the loose)

So here are some facts you should use to evaluate your actions.  

People are still dying from Covid-19. In the United States, the death toll has reached 613,092 as of Sunday. That means more Americans have died from Covid-19 in the last 18 months than died in combat during four years of World War Two. And cases are still spreading fast in Africa and parts of Europe because of the new Delta variant. 

It is still impacting everything from your workplace to sporting events like baseball and the Olympic Games, which start this week in Japan.  

Experts who keep a close watch on the virus say the vast majority of those getting the illness now are NOT vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, you should still be wearing a mask.  

Part of the problem of course, is disinformation spread quickly on line, which is then picked up by easily induced right-wing politicians and politically motivated right-wing media which influence people to make bad decisions.

So, where does this disinformation originate? A group called the Center for Countering Digital Hate took a closer look. They found that 70% of it comes from a group of 12 people who make a lot of money doing it. The Anti-Vaxx industry, as it is now called, has an annual revenue of at least $36 million, and it's worth more than $1.1 billion to Big Tech because of the 62 million followers they attract. Even worse, some of these organizations have gotten government loans for their marketing schemes that spread disinformation and bring in more profit. The full report below details who these people are. Among them are a body builder, a wellness blogger and a religious zealot. They notably include long time anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has campaigned against the measles vaccines and 5G phone technology as well. 

f4d9b9_00b2ad56fe524d82b271a75e441cd06c.pdf (filesusr.com)

Their main outlets for this disinformation are Facebook and Twitter, which at times have deleted some of their posts, but have not removed the anti-vaxxers from the platforms.  

This may partially explain the resistance to the vaccines. Like I have said many times, don't believe everything you read on line. 

Dumbest Quote Of The  Week:. 

Another repeat loser for this week's dumbest quote: 

North Carolina Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn, who seemed a bit panicked over the Biden Administration's door-to-door efforts to get people vaccinated. Speaking to a to a faux media outlet called the "Right Side Broadcast Network" at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas early in the week, Cawthorn said:

"The thing about the mechanisms they would have to build to be able to actually execute that massive of a thing — and then think about what those mechanisms could be used for. They could then go door-to-door to take your guns. They could then go door-to-door to take your Bibles." 

I am not sure where he gets this stuff from. Even the anti-vaxxers don't come up with that kind of nonsense. I hope the good people of North Carolina see this guy for what he is--an uninformed conspiracy theory nut--and kick him out of Congress next year.   

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