The story of mankind is created every day, but it is told through history. It is only when he looks back, that he realizes how far he has come. History has been instrumental in shaping the present and most likely the future of humanity. One of the greatest flaws associated with history is its inaccuracy. The inaccuracy is not, however, because of lack of information but because of the prejudice and perspectives that are captured by most historians (Woolford, Andrew, Jeff, and Alexander 43). Information is abundant; the only problem is the indifference that people show to the available information.
The story that is told all through the course of time is but that of victors and heroes. This significantly marginalizes the story of the victim, which is often not captured in any perspective. The focus of this paper is to analyze the importance of critically analyzing and studying history. “Memory, Erasure, and National Myth” by Tricia Logan forms the basis of the analysis and argument in this paper.
As Mark Twain once stated, “The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid prejudice” (Howe147). His argument aimed at asserting the fact that the history we know is not necessarily accurate and that it is made of biases from those who are responsible for the publications. The history of humanity as it is known today is only told from those in power. This means that the inferior societies and communities are left out of the influence of history.
According to Dan Brown, in the book “Da Vinci Code,” history is, and has always been, written by the winners and victors. The meeting and clashing of two cultures always leaves one of the two obliterated and annihilated. However, to the winner, history books become tools that glorify their cause of conquering the foe. Critical study and analysis of history is aimed at changing that conventional perspective of history.
Critical history is focused on ensuring that the untold stories and seemingly less important perspectives are brought to light. By looking at the omission of indigenous history in Canada, as brought out by Tricia Logan, an individual begins to understand the effects of such actions on society as a whole.
The present day issues are largely as a result of the various ways man has chosen to represent and view his history. For a fact, it is clear that history is not entirely factual but contains a number of flaws. The view of a country by its citizens is often derived from the history that exists about the nation. For instance, it is the government’s role to fund museums, and this means that it can be manipulated and corrupted to meet selfish needs and desires.
Logan, in her essay, asserts that a great deal of historical information is pushed into oblivion, and the reason is that financial and political dynamics hold a great influence on the narratives that are told and those that are forgotten (Logan 157). A good example of a historical event that gathers a lot of attention is the Holocaust. For the politicians, it is much easier to bring out the positive image of a country while neglecting and eliminating those events that carry a negative connotation.
A significant violation lies in the fact that Canada has been plagued by the failure to acknowledge the rights of the indigenous people. Canada has long been known as a place of refuge that “Canadian curricula have thus been revised in accordance with such obligatory yet perhaps superficial treatments” (Logan 152). A great deal of the Canadian history has been eliminated and omitted more so that which includes massive dispossession and aboriginal elimination from the curriculums that make up the institutions of history (Logan 152).
Looking at the description and definition of the word genocide, it states that it is any act that aims at eliminating or destroying wholly or partly, a race, nation, religious or ethnic group. The term colonial genocide distinctly describes the inflictions on the aboriginal people by both the Parliament of Canada and the colonialists. According to Logan, “the prevailing assumption that the Holocaust is the example of genocide still blinds many observers to the fact that genocide occurred” (Logan 153).
She asserts that holding the idea of the Holocaust as the hallmark of what genocide is, immediately obliterates the perception of people regarding the occurrence of genocides in other countries within Europe. According to Logan, the very omission of the word genocide from the Canadian history is the pretext upon which the Canadian population fails to understand its issue regarding the indigenous rights oppression (152).
Joyce in his work also supports the idea that there is a continued refusal to acknowledge of a number of historical aspects (Joyce 88). However, by choosing to eliminate or omit such events in the history of a nation, it does not end the problems and challenges that accrue from the occurrence in the past. There is an urgent need for the governments to acknowledge and admit of the issues that plague the progress of cohesion among the citizens (Joyce 89). Concrete and practical solutions to current and existing issues can only be produced and executed from a point of acceptance and acknowledgment of the events of the past.
According to Patrick Joyce, in his work, The Gift of the Past: Towards a Critical History, critical history should be treated as an element of knowledge creation (93). A number of the decisions and choices that are made in the contemporary society are based on the knowledge that man has about his history. This, therefore, highlights the importance of having and realistic and holistic understanding of what the past events entailed and represented.
There is an interesting new perspective that comes to light when one begins to analyze and critically appreciate history. A lot of information can be learned from the seemingly unimportant and untold stories of the past events. It is the role of humanity to understand each piece that has been instrumental in shaping the present and most likely the future.
In conclusion, selectively choosing the parts to be remembered and published based on political or financial influences compromises the diversity and richness of the past events. For the Canadian citizens, the critical history provides the knowledge to allow them to make ethical decisions. Toxic relations and communication difficulties between the various ethnic groups can be traced back to the selective omission and inclusion of past events of history. The fact that most historical documents are told from the perspective of the victor means that a lot of useful information is left out.
Works cited
Joyce, Patrick “The gift of the past: towards a critical history” Manifestos for History .Ed. Keith Jenkins, Sue Morgan, Alun Munslow. Routledge, 2007. 88-97. PDF.
Logan, Tricia E. “Memory, Erasure, and National Myth.” Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America. Ed. Alexander Laban Hinton. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014. 149-165. Print.
Woolford, Andrew, Jeff Benvenuto, and Alexander L. Hinton. Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014. Internet resource.
Howe, Lawrence. Mark Twain and the Novel: The Double-Cross of Authority. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Print.
