Beginning at the innocent years of childhood, when the world is seen as an imaginative wonderland, children are showered in lies. Fictional characters, such as Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy, are used by parental figures to reinforce naivety. Sure, little white lies like Santa Claus seem minute: however, the lying does not halt there. Many schools’ textbooks exploit students to the altered truth behind America’s patriotic past. Fabricated stories about the bombing of Hiroshima, the genocide of Native Americans, slavery, and the civil rights movement are used to perpetuate justification for America’s past actions. History is ever-changing and new ideas or interpretations are constantly coming to surface, yet America’s history
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Martin Luther King Jr. epitomizes civil disobedience with his efforts of protesting peacefully, and King is also known for his famous “I have a dream speech.” Unknowingly, King has a dark side that is looked over in school teachings. In fact, King’s speech was partly plagiarized from one given at a republican convention in 1952 by Archibald Carey Jr. – a Chicago preacher. Although a rumor at first, it became public that King had an obsession with white prostitutes, using church funds to afford his sexual desires. King is portrayed as a saint in education, however, acknowledging that even the greatest heroes made mistakes creates a realistic viewpoint for students. Similar to King, Mahatma Gandhi is known for his prominent acts of civil disobedience by leading the Indian independence movement, but just like the former, Gandhi is not completely what he is depicted …show more content…
With its obvious Eurocentric tunnel vision, American history perpetuates misrepresentations of other ethnic groups and religions. Christianity and European beliefs exert themselves over minorities, an example of this country’s “natural, basic self-centeredness” (Wallace, 201). Due to the (mainly white) upper class’ recycled reception of “inherited wealth,” they are able to afford expensive tuition at a pristine university for (usually) mediocre students (Ehrenreich, 549). This wealth is more than likely passed down from past generations’ use of slave labor. On the other side of the spectrum, minorities are forced to be excellent in order to receive a scholarship to even consider higher education. One could argue many lower class students receive financial aid for compensation, and this is true in most cases, however, even with assistance from the government, Ivy League schools are out of
Martin Luther King Jr. epitomizes civil disobedience with his efforts of protesting peacefully, and King is also known for his famous “I have a dream speech.” Unknowingly, King has a dark side that is looked over in school teachings. In fact, King’s speech was partly plagiarized from one given at a republican convention in 1952 by Archibald Carey Jr. – a Chicago preacher. Although a rumor at first, it became public that King had an obsession with white prostitutes, using church funds to afford his sexual desires. King is portrayed as a saint in education, however, acknowledging that even the greatest heroes made mistakes creates a realistic viewpoint for students. Similar to King, Mahatma Gandhi is known for his prominent acts of civil disobedience by leading the Indian independence movement, but just like the former, Gandhi is not completely what he is depicted …show more content…
With its obvious Eurocentric tunnel vision, American history perpetuates misrepresentations of other ethnic groups and religions. Christianity and European beliefs exert themselves over minorities, an example of this country’s “natural, basic self-centeredness” (Wallace, 201). Due to the (mainly white) upper class’ recycled reception of “inherited wealth,” they are able to afford expensive tuition at a pristine university for (usually) mediocre students (Ehrenreich, 549). This wealth is more than likely passed down from past generations’ use of slave labor. On the other side of the spectrum, minorities are forced to be excellent in order to receive a scholarship to even consider higher education. One could argue many lower class students receive financial aid for compensation, and this is true in most cases, however, even with assistance from the government, Ivy League schools are out of