Battle In Texas To Re-Write History

If what is happening in Texas is any indicator, what you learned about the history of this country will be quite different from what your grandchildren will learn.

The Texas State Board of Education, who’s recommendations are frequently adopted by school districts and states around the nation has approved a new curriculum for social studies in that state, lauded by some as a return to conservative ideology this country was founded on, and lambasted by others as a vehicle to further promote whitey. In a 10 to 5 vote, the 10 Repubs over the 5 non-whites, approved a document that outlines what the content will be for social studies in Texas schools. There will be a public hearing on the document and a vote on it in May.

The main points of contention is not what whites did that was right, that made this country great, but what whitey did wrong. Although the document has not been released yet, there apparently is nothing (or not enough) on the Ku Klux Klan, or what happened to American Indians in this country. As far as I know, there is nothing on illegal aliens or the Black Panthers either. Maybe all of that should be included. However, the 5 ethno-centrists that voted against this seemingly only want history to reflect their view. And they did have their view, in 1987, the last time the curriculum was revised. Anybody that has been in school in the last 20 years can tell you what kind of text books are there now. Mostly overpriced propaganda. At least they can’t screw up a math book. I take that back. I remember an algebra class I had where the first hour of class every week was point out the errors session in the text. They can-and did screw up a math book.

Apparently, things like math aren’t that important. One of the gripes about this proposed curriculum is that is excludes hip-hop as a social phenomenon. You can’t make this up. Anybody with an ounce of common sense will tell you that hip-hop-and most other genres of music are music industry crafted marketing schemes. See a movie called That Thing You Do. It’s a Tom Hanks flick where he was the manager of a band, one the myriad one hit wonders in the music business. They had one song that was catchy enough for the record company. It was interesting to hear what the original song sounded like, and how it evolved into something very different by the time it was recorded. That isn’t social studies, that’s like buying the latest clothing-no matter how shitty it is, because it’s the latest thing. Well, the latest for some. They want to include things in there that I never heard of. the Beat Generation, the Chicano Mural Movement-!? What the hell are they talking about?

It seems clear to me that this isn’t really about social studies. This is about ethno-superiority. You can re-write history, as it has been many times, but that doesn’t change what actually happened. On both sides of this debate/document, your view is not the only view. One side of this issue wants to focus on what made this country great. The other on what sucks. Take a look around the planet folks. There is a lot more good than bad that can said for the United States. I can’t think of another country that has taken steps on such a scale to address the problems of her past either.

Not good enough for the ethno-socialists on the TBOE. They want to tokenize themselves and have that tokensism pass as history. This country has been majority white since its founding. I don’t know how these people can get around that. It is also the most welcoming country on earth. Not sure if the curriculum will mention that. This issue reminds me of 1984, where the job of the protagonist was to re-write history. I wonder what George Orwell would be thinking about this debate.