indoctrination at school


SpiritDragon
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Since I'm a history teacher, I figured I may as well weigh in here😉. The biggest problem we tend to face when studying the past is exactly what @Just_A_Guy said, presentism. Let's take Southern motivations in the Civil War for example, since it's already been used. States Rights seems like a clear cut way to connect modern conservatism with seccessionist sentiment found in the South. Seems pretty cut and dried, modern conservatives frequently talk about states rights and limiting the power of the federal government. Until you take a step back and realize that modern conservatives, especially in the U.S., tend to be strong nationalists, and would reject early Southern notions of states having the right to leave out of hand. For modern conservatives, patriotism is such a core part of their being, for good or ill, that breaking the country apart would never occur to them (beyond the usual bellyaching conservatives and liberals do about states they don't like). Just the mere dismissal of secession alone prevents a useful comparison between conservatives and mid 1800's Southern Democrats, and that's before you dive into other political beliefs that have very much not transfered forward in time (Slavery being most obvious, but I could also use Southern desire for lower tariffs to protect their agricultural interests from the North among many other differences). I could give hundreds of examples of presentism that I find in most political arguments about history, I've spent far more time in my life than is entirely healthy studying the past😁, but I think the point is made. Generally, when we try to impose our current values on the past, we are trying to show how our side in a debate is just, righteous, and pure, while the other side is truly evil and has been since the beginning. It actually detracts from a legitimate understanding of history, as can be seen in the example provided, and I advise my students to avoid using modern political ideas when interpreting the past (climbs down off of soapbox).

Edited by Midwest LDS
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On 10/26/2018 at 9:32 PM, Scott said:

The confederates wanted a limited Federal Government and more State rights (and they considered Slavery to be a State right).   We could leave it at that.   How's that?  Would you agree?  

And Liberals want to support women's health.  And they believe abortion = women's health.  After all, why try to discount all the health risks of abortion, including death?

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