Making Patriots the Proper Way

With the beginning of the Beijing Olympics, much has been made of East Asia’s humanitarian record. There have been accusations and counter-accusations; issues of humanity and issues of practicality. Plenty has been written by better men than I on these important problems. In this post I will instead address a much smaller issue, but one which is relevant to our day to day lives as Americans: the issue of honest histories.

In the last decade we have witnessed numerous squabbles between China and its neighbor Japan. The specifics of this quarrel are ever changing, but the heart of the problem is simple enough. Japan refuses to acknowledge the war crimes it committed during its occupation of China in WWII. China, for its part, is understandably furious when Japanese textbooks pretend that particularly notorious massacres never took place. Not surprisingly, I have never heard an American politician or popular figure take a meaningful stand on this issue. This is not because Japan’s refusal is insulting and ignorant, but because it is painfully familiar.

As a Coloradan born, and as a Coloradan raised, I am quite well versed in the indignities of that state’s public school system. Over twelve long years I was asked to study United States history several times, often with a strong emphasis on Colorado and the West. Upon gaining some age and intelligence under my belt, I revisited the history of my state, and I must say, we are lying to ourselves and our children. The atrocities committed against the Native Americans are still incredible to behold. Massacre after massacre, lie after lie, our true American history is full of regretful decisions. This is unarguable. But somewhere along the way, we have decided as a society that it is best to pretend that our history was consistently glorious. Certainly there could be beneficent motives behind our willful ignorance; perhaps it is the idea is to make great citizens through obligation to a noble past; perhaps it is the idea that those of us alive today are not responsible for the sins of the past. Regardless of the reasoning behind our shameless editing of history, one thing seems clear: we made mistakes which we pretend never occurred.

Aside from the fact that we certainly can’t be criticizing the Japanese for something that we do ourselves, we must address another troubling consequence. Those elements of our history that are truly glorious have been dimmed by our unwillingness to face the shameful portions of America’s past. How truly noble can a nation be when it fears its own reflection? While we lay claim to Nathan Hale and other honorable patriots we simultaneously disgrace their memory by editing our own. One doesn’t create patriots by lying. They are created by seeing the noble and the ignoble, the honorable and the disgraceful, the great and the terrible. They are created by deciding what part of our history we choose to embody and carry forth into the future. And for that decision it is as essential to remember the Sand Creek Massacre as it is to remember Nathan Hale.