George Orwell once wrote “Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past" (Zinn 89). The notable quote holds a lot of wisdom, and a message of exercising caution when it comes to history. Dominant ideologies and views of history have had calamitous consequences when gone unchallenged by society. Marchak discusses who creates and controls the dominant ideology in contemporary society, as they are the ones ‘who control the present’. As the dominant ideology grows on a society, it makes it harder to challenge it. Free though is constantly celebrated and fought for in first world countries such as ours, but counter-ideologies are suppressed when inconvenient for those in control of the present. Zinn illustrates
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As a result, they ‘control the future’, as they controlled the past; the future will always live and learn under colonialist beliefs.
Depiction of a False Hero
This depiction of a false hero, Christopher Columbus, has made an enormous impact on the Native people. The misled depiction not only erases the injustices done to the Native population but also glorifies the western concepts of ‘conquest’ and ‘discovery’. It simply allows America avoid taking any responsibility for what happened to the Natives. Zinn explains this phenomenon as
“’The ‘patriotism’ that Chauncey Depew invoked in celebrating Columbus was profoundly tied to the notion of inferiority of conquered peoples. Columbus’ attacks on the Indians were justified by their status of sub-humans” (Zinn 94)
This is the classic “us vs them” mentality McNeill speaks out about, which is often exhibited in war or other acts of violence and hatred. This “notion of inferiority” was placed on enslaved Africans and the Jewish population during the Holocaust. A population of people inflate their worth, and decrease the value of other groups in order to justify any acts of horror they wish to …show more content…
McNeil also urges against the ‘us vs them’ mentality created by mythistory. McNeill explains “The result is mythistorical: the past as we want it to be, safely simplified into a contest between good guys and bad guys, ‘us’ and ‘them’” (McNeill 80). If a historian writes history in this manner, then one group at all times falls short and is made out to look like villains for years to come. An example of this was Columbus’ story, the Colonialist were depicted as noble Christian saviors, and the Natives were depicted as savages that are less than human. It was self-validating history, it was an idealized version of the colonialist without any mention of the barbarity they caused. By removing all the key details that show the faults of a group, it will consequently lead to a long history of discrimination, racism, and the extreme being genocides. This ‘superior vs inferior’ thinking consistently results in unnecessary villainizing and tension. The war between Israel and Palestine is a current example of this mentality and its catastrophic consequences. Benito Mussolini’s fascism was based on the whole notion of certain groups being superior to others. Historically, the ‘us vs them’ mentality will eventually reach its ultimate demise,
As a result, they ‘control the future’, as they controlled the past; the future will always live and learn under colonialist beliefs.
Depiction of a False Hero
This depiction of a false hero, Christopher Columbus, has made an enormous impact on the Native people. The misled depiction not only erases the injustices done to the Native population but also glorifies the western concepts of ‘conquest’ and ‘discovery’. It simply allows America avoid taking any responsibility for what happened to the Natives. Zinn explains this phenomenon as
“’The ‘patriotism’ that Chauncey Depew invoked in celebrating Columbus was profoundly tied to the notion of inferiority of conquered peoples. Columbus’ attacks on the Indians were justified by their status of sub-humans” (Zinn 94)
This is the classic “us vs them” mentality McNeill speaks out about, which is often exhibited in war or other acts of violence and hatred. This “notion of inferiority” was placed on enslaved Africans and the Jewish population during the Holocaust. A population of people inflate their worth, and decrease the value of other groups in order to justify any acts of horror they wish to …show more content…
McNeil also urges against the ‘us vs them’ mentality created by mythistory. McNeill explains “The result is mythistorical: the past as we want it to be, safely simplified into a contest between good guys and bad guys, ‘us’ and ‘them’” (McNeill 80). If a historian writes history in this manner, then one group at all times falls short and is made out to look like villains for years to come. An example of this was Columbus’ story, the Colonialist were depicted as noble Christian saviors, and the Natives were depicted as savages that are less than human. It was self-validating history, it was an idealized version of the colonialist without any mention of the barbarity they caused. By removing all the key details that show the faults of a group, it will consequently lead to a long history of discrimination, racism, and the extreme being genocides. This ‘superior vs inferior’ thinking consistently results in unnecessary villainizing and tension. The war between Israel and Palestine is a current example of this mentality and its catastrophic consequences. Benito Mussolini’s fascism was based on the whole notion of certain groups being superior to others. Historically, the ‘us vs them’ mentality will eventually reach its ultimate demise,