Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl01049)

In the April 15, 1996, issue of "Newsweek", there is an
short note on history tests and politics:

"Makeup Test: More History, Less P.C."

"When the National Center for History in the Schools
issued its first set of teaching standards back in 1994,
the flag hit the fan. Critics railed that these voluntary
guidelines, detailing what students K-12 should learn about
American and world history, were so P.C., so self-consciously
multi-culti, that they distorted the national heritage. The
standards contained 17 references to the Ku Klux Klan, for
example, and 19 to McCarthyism, but no mention at all of
Paul Revere or Thomas Edison. But now, it seems, the light
bulb has gone on. Last week the center, based at UCLA,
released new recommendations with the revisionist history
substantially revised. Some comparisons:"

"How the West Was Won"

"Old: Describes the 'restless while Americans [who] pushed
westward' and how, 'animated by land hunger and the
ideology of "manifest Destiny",' they 'engaged in abrasive
racial encounters with Native Americans.'"

"New: The word 'white' is omitted. And another reason for
expansion is cited: 'the optimism that anything was
possible with imagination, hard work and the maximum
freedom of the individual.'"

"The Cold War"

"Old: Calls the cold war 'swordplay of the Soviet Union and
the United States,' and says it 'led to American intervention
in many parts of the world.'"

"New: 'The Cold War set the framework for global politics
for 45 years after the end of World War II.' Mentions the
'messianic nature of Soviet communism' as a cause."

"Slavery"

"Old: Stressed 'the forced relocation of Africans to the
English colonies.'"

"New: Also discusses slavery in African societies."

"Big Business"

"Old: Teachers are advised to 'conduct a trail of John D.
Rockefeller on the charge of "knowingly and willfully
participating in unethical and amoral business practices."'"

"New: No crimes-of-capitalism trails."

----

What does this show us and how can we learn from this
in our theosophical circles?

We see what happens in standard politics. People
don't strive for a balanced position, but carry things
to extremes. Why? To tilt the scales in the desired
direction as much as possible. The intent is to effect
change in others, rather than inform and teach.

On theos-l, we may sometimes see the same thing happen,
as people take extreme positions or make extreme
remarks. They are not seeking to inform or teach, as
much as to give people a hard push in a certain
direction.

How can we tell when this is happening? When someone
taking an extreme position refuses to acknowledge any
good at all in other views. They would say "my way is
the *only* way," rather than "my way is a good way,
because of this and that, although I acknowledge that
these other ways have merit as well."

-- Eldon