The "History" Channel

Since watching The Crucible on Sunday, I've been thinking about the Salem Witch Trials. Yes, I know that's morbid, demented, bizarre, what have you. But I am a history person and I truly believe that our history molds our present.

So, I went to netflix and found a History Channel documentary on the witch trials. As I sat down to enjoy an evening of accusations and heresy, I was saddened and disturbed at how wrong this documentary was.

I know that the national grasp on American history is tenuous to say the least, but one would think that the History channel might be able to put something together that was at least accurate, if still shallow. Instead, I really think my high school AP US History teacher put this together. This was the man who was a teacher only so he could secure his position as the varsity football coach. Our "lectures" consisted of him handing out a list of terms (these were called "magic words"--seriously!) while he watched video tapes of games. Did I mention that this was Advanced Placement US History?

I have always loved history. It's a puzzle that we're still trying to solve. It's a picture that becomes more complete with the passage of time. It's a soap opera far better than anything you'll find on daytime television. So, after I completed my so-called education in Oregon Public schools, I headed off to The College of William and Mary--the best history department in the nation--to study history.

To this day, I'm not sure how this happened, but I ended up a medieval history major. I think the drama of the British monarch was just too much of a draw. Or else I was going through the ambivalent stage that most of us experience in our late-teens and early-twenties. In any case, I spent four years learning that, when my high school history teachers actually taught something (usually during the off-season), they were teaching the wrong stuff!

No wonder we're so messed up in this country! Very few of us have a sense of our history and, therefore, our national identity. Schools across the country are just perpetuating this plague to future generations. And, in a generation that's tied to the television, the History Channel is infecting the wound.

I won't go into the details of this documentary--it's not worth it (and it would take far too long). Instead I'll just head out to my library.

Speaking of books (and a total change of subject), I finished reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. It was very good--not great. Honestly, I found it a bit slow but appreciated it once I was done. The language is gorgeous and it evokes some true emotions. It was better than many books you'll find in the stores, but alas doesn't compare to most of the books on my shelf.