History

The past is past, where is the future? There may be more political lies about history than any other political issue. “History proves my policy is the only one that will solve our problems.”

The question is whose history are we talking about. Every event has several sides and a great deal of emotional involvement. In general what passes for history is political correctness carried to extremes. History texts are compromises that glorify and excuse vested interest. During World War II the Allies were shouting loudly about Axis war crimes when there were few definitions of an international war crime. Winston Churchill was asked if he were not afraid that he and the Allies would also be tried for committing the same crimes. Churchill replied that the history of victory would determine who the criminals were and that he (Churchill) would write that history. Churchill did write that history and Allied crimes were buried in dusty archives.

Serious historians do not like to begin researching history in those archives until all the participants have died and emotions cooled. They look past period public utterances to masses of obscure documents that support or refute popular period histories. The vast majority of the public and journalist never search for historical truth in dusty archives but parrot political correct versions of past events.

It is true that there is much to be learned from history, what worked and what didn’t and it requires critical thinkers to assess the pluses and minus of true history and reach the equals of future strategies.

It has been said that Generals always fight the last war, often to true. Politicians campaign on the last election and journalist measure past results against that current election. Both of these are examples of historical mis-direction of public perspective from policy failures.

In the current election both American parties, who are equally at fault, seek to obscure the fact that failed public policies have led into an American economic melt down. A Black Hole that is dragging the world into recession. Both parties are reaching back almost 80 years for historically politically correct solutions. Certainly there are some parallels between the causes of the Great Depression and the current situation, but this is a different world than that of the 1930s. Learn from history, it took ten years and a World War to recover from the Great Depression, that is to costly in today’s interactive world.

Campaign strategist should have searched for some politically incorrect critical thinkers who could have crafted a future public policy strategy. It is imperative that the election victor, not only addresses the current challenges, but also mobilized the politically incorrect to produce a visionary public policy for the future survival of the State.