"History is written by assassins". This is the most iconic quote from the 1985 Argentinean film The Official Story, and is, in my opinion, a very powerful statement. But I think this statement advances outside from the context of the Argentinean Dirty War and can be appropriately placed in today's American society.
It's no surprise that any country would want to propagandize their own form of patriotism in the history books. I, in some level, can even understand why the United States would not want to over explicate on the dark spots of their past to the American public. I mean, if the people that you are trying to lead are going to doubt you, that would make it harder to lead the country right? I think Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt". Let me give you one example of the United States distorting the facts and implementing these lies in the history books, Vietnam. There are many different reasons that historians credit the start of Vietnam, but a significant number of them cite the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident as the actual first step that leads up to the Vietnam War. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was an incident where, supposedly, a Vietnam torpedo boats were shooting at an American destroyer, which prompted President Johnson to send troops in South East Asia. President Johnson makes it really clear in his speech to the American people that it was North Vietnam who shot first.
It's no surprise that any country would want to propagandize their own form of patriotism in the history books. I, in some level, can even understand why the United States would not want to over explicate on the dark spots of their past to the American public. I mean, if the people that you are trying to lead are going to doubt you, that would make it harder to lead the country right? I think Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt". Let me give you one example of the United States distorting the facts and implementing these lies in the history books, Vietnam. There are many different reasons that historians credit the start of Vietnam, but a significant number of them cite the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident as the actual first step that leads up to the Vietnam War. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was an incident where, supposedly, a Vietnam torpedo boats were shooting at an American destroyer, which prompted President Johnson to send troops in South East Asia. President Johnson makes it really clear in his speech to the American people that it was North Vietnam who shot first.
This was later disproven forty-one years later by an internal National Security Agency historical study which concluded:
At 1500G, Captain Herrick ordered Ogier's gun crews to open fire if the boats approached within ten thousand yards. At about 1505G, the Maddox fired three rounds to warn off the communist boats. This initial action was never reported by the Johnson administration, which insisted that the Vietnamese boats fired first.
So Ladies and Gentleman, the basis for the Vietnam War was a straight up lie. For about forty-one years our history text books cited the Gulf of Tonkin incident exactly as the President put it. Hell, I remember reading about this incident in my 2006 edition World History textbook exactly as the lie was stated it in my sophomore World History class - gives you an idea of the quality of education I received. There are many other instances where the United States has tried to lie in the past. I could talk about all of them in great detail, but one thing I want to get across is that people should be extremely skeptical of what is classified as "Official History". I am not trying to imply that you should not believe what you are told, but don't regard it as dogma. Always remember that the people who classify these stories have an agenda that they have to fulfill. In other words, always remember that history is written by assassins.
Works Cited
The Official Story. Pacific Arts Video, 1986. Film.
"Lyndon Johnson - Report on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8-ffiYyzA>.
At 1500G, Captain Herrick ordered Ogier's gun crews to open fire if the boats approached within ten thousand yards. At about 1505G, the Maddox fired three rounds to warn off the communist boats. This initial action was never reported by the Johnson administration, which insisted that the Vietnamese boats fired first.
So Ladies and Gentleman, the basis for the Vietnam War was a straight up lie. For about forty-one years our history text books cited the Gulf of Tonkin incident exactly as the President put it. Hell, I remember reading about this incident in my 2006 edition World History textbook exactly as the lie was stated it in my sophomore World History class - gives you an idea of the quality of education I received. There are many other instances where the United States has tried to lie in the past. I could talk about all of them in great detail, but one thing I want to get across is that people should be extremely skeptical of what is classified as "Official History". I am not trying to imply that you should not believe what you are told, but don't regard it as dogma. Always remember that the people who classify these stories have an agenda that they have to fulfill. In other words, always remember that history is written by assassins.
Works Cited
The Official Story. Pacific Arts Video, 1986. Film.
"Lyndon Johnson - Report on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 7 Mar. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8-ffiYyzA>.