Erasing history is a betrayal of future generations

By Liam FitzGerald
Reader Contributor

“The truth will set you free.” 

— John 8:32 

On March 27, President Donald Trump issued an executive order, which, according to the White House, is intended to restore “truth and sanity to American history.” This order specifically refers to the Smithsonian Institution and directs Vice President JD Vance to eliminate “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” from any of its exhibits.

It seems likely that this order would mean the elimination of exhibits that refer to — or provide a negative image of — slavery or the treatment of Indigenous peoples in America, and suggests that anything that might question the morality of the American people (past or present), or tarnish the president’s version of what our country’s history should be, is no longer considered acceptable. 

The order also states, “In the last decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted effort to rewrite American history and force our nation to adopt a factually baseless ideology aimed at eliminating American achievement,” and, “President Trump is fighting back by reestablishing truth in the historical narrative and restoring Federal sites dedicated to American heritage.”

Does this mean that fundamentally important chapters of our history will be eliminated or glossed-over, and that as a nation we should bury our heads in the sand and forget about what has actually occurred? Not only denying our past mistakes, but denying the heroic efforts by so many Americans — Black, white and all the colors in between — to overcome the immoral ideologies that made things like slavery and genocide possible.

I would think that many American children who are to be denied the truth about our country’s past will someday, when they discover what really took place (which they are likely to do), will feel a profound sense of betrayal and disrespect for being denied the chance to truly understand our cherished although sometimes troubled history. I know I would.

“Those who do not learn (or are denied the chance to learn) from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them.”

Liam FitzGerald is a Sagle resident.