Gearheart: Oklahoma’s attempt to erase history
Edmund Burke, a political theorist and philosopher, said, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” Quotes like this one — facts, actually, because as we know, history has tended to repeat itself in the form of wars, colonialism, social movements, etc. — are important to keep in mind right now, considering what’s currently happening in the Oklahoma legislature.
For those of you who are unsure what I’m referring to, here’s a brief synopsis: Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma have, just days ago, approved a bill that would kill funding for and effectively end Advanced Placement U.S. History courses in their state (AP courses are rigorous classes and exams offered at the high school level to allow students to obtain college credit before graduating). Their claim behind the action is that, says State Representative Dan Fisher, the AP U.S. History curriculum focuses on “what is bad about America” and doesn’t preach the idea of “American exceptionalism.”
The fact of the matter is that history is full of events that make America look bad. We’re not perfect; nobody is. We killed Native Americans, we held humans captive as slaves, we enforced racist Jim Crow Laws, we prevented women from having a voice, we engaged in chemical warfare. . . the list could go on and on. We’ve made countless mistakes, but our biggest mistake yet would be failing to educate our country’s students on a realistic version of our history.
Clearly the 11 Republicans who voted in favor of banning AP U.S. History disagree. Instead, they want to paint the past as sunshine and rainbows; they want our country to seem perfect from the very beginning. “American exceptionalism” is what our U.S. History classes should teach, they say. If they have it their way, our students will no longer learn where our country has gone wrong (that, they might say, is just anti-American!), but instead will be taught a very romanticized version of the past, one that emphasizes the heroic actions of American soldiers during WWII (and I absolutely do believe that our soldiers are and were heroes) but conveniently fails to raise questions of the morality of the atomic bomb or U.S. internment camps that Japanese-Americans were forced into.
I love my country, I really do. I’m proud to be an American, and I think it’s terrific that there’s a strong push to celebrate the victories our country has had. However, I also think it’s important to give students a realistic view of the past — and considering that the past hasn’t always been pretty, the stories we tell shouldn’t always be pretty. These lawmakers want to focus on “America’s founding principles” (one of which was freedom, unless I’m mistaken), yet they want to take away the freedom of so many students to go above and beyond what is required of them by accepting the challenge that Advanced Placement offers and learn a realistic, in-depth version of our great country’s history.
My hope is that the actions initiated by these state representatives do not take effect, and that those who see things my way bring things to a screeching halt. If they don’t, I fear that other states will follow suit, and the validity of U.S. history education will severely decline. As Edmund Burke pointed out, unless we know our history, we are doomed to repeat it. And repeat it we will, if we fail to educate our future leaders with the whole truth.
Ashley Gearheart is a first-year majoring in communication.
