A not so free press

fame and glory storyHis REAL The misconceptions that damage our historical perspective - art by EGRET JIN

CASSIE BEISHEIM

opinions editor | @cassiebeisheim

One of the most famous lines in the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This is high talk about liberty coming from a slave owner.

However, these words can also be used to embody the beginning of the stereotypical American value of freedom. While our country has made many mistakes in both our past and present regarding freedom, the idea itself comes from the work of those who set our government into motion: our Founding Fathers. Seven random, wealthy white men from the 1700s hold some of the highest praises of anyone from our nation’s past. While it is important to recognize their importance to the country, their flaws cannot be overlooked. They represent a larger issue within our society — the glorification of historical figures.

Concerning the Founding Fathers, there is much to say about the amount of praise they deserve. Many political speeches given today reflect on the words of these men almost in the way one would regard a holy text, as if they represent authority and absolute reason. When we praise George Washington or Thomas

Je erson as the greatest idols our country has to o er, we remain ignorant to their flaws. These men exhibited racist, sexist and elitist tendencies, and it is imperative that we change our narrative surrounding their lives. However, the Founding Fathers are not the only problem with our perception of history, as there are plenty of other historical figures that are wrongly glorified as well. For example, take Christopher Columbus. While he has been exposed for the atrocities he committed, much of our country still fails to recognize the issues behind the celebration of his “findings.” While it is okay to realize that Columbus lived in a time where the social environment di ered from today’s, that does not justify immoral actions. As explained by American Heritage, Columbus and his men raped and murdered thousands of innocent people. America is a country that was founded when white people came in and stole land from those unable to defend themselves. While this may not be our generation’s fault, we must not continue to look highly upon those who committed such inexcusable actions.

As a society, we all too often overlook the problems that lie within our history. History classes teach that Abraham Lincoln was a hero who freed the slaves, but fail to mention his initial support of slavery. The Constitution Center has shown that the original version of the 13th Amendment intended to make slavery not only legal, but essentially permanent. Lincoln supported this amendment long before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Children scanning the pages of history books are going to truly believe that our past generations worked solely to achieve peace and fairness. So, let us reflect upon this Thanksgiving season with a more enlightened point of view. Let us remember the ridiculously high number of Native Americans killed to form our “more perfect union.” Let us hold responsible those throughout history who were racist and bigoted, even if they gave us our Constitution and our country. History is anything but black and white, and it does no one well to be ignorant of reality.