Last sunday morning, I thumbed past Fox News to see yet more distressing evidence of the rights surge to extremism. In what appeared to be a regular weekly segment titled at the bottom of the screen "Liberal Lies," Dayton University Professor Larry Schweikart was featured discussing items from his book "48 Lies About American History", in which he gives examples of passages in history textbooks that he takes issue with. He gives his version of history, explaining why the "liberal" version is wrong. Then the beautiful blond Foxgirl gives contact information for the textbook publisher, encouraging viewers to complain and lobby for revision.
This new feature is a new level of exposure for the revisionist Schweikart, who has been featured sporadically on the network for more than six months, as chronicled on Newshound.
http://www.newshounds.us/...
It is also a frighteningly new level of activism by Fox.
It doesn't need to be said that no counterpoint opinion was offered, and that the slogans "Fair and balanced" and "We report, you decide" were flashed at the end of the segment as no more than a joke.
Textbook companies are quite vulnerable to influence by a small vocal minority.
http://www.thebatt.com/...
Even the whiff of controversy could sway a state's decision making apparatus against purchase of a given text. Plus, the states tend to act as herd, usually following California's, the biggest purchaser, lead. The result is that current history textbooks, IMHO, trend toward vanilla no-value judgment tomes devoid of hard opinions of past events. I love to read history textbooks. No, I love to read OLD history textbooks, pre WWII, where the authors have license to state opposing opinions before then explaining why the author's differing opinion is correct. The current texts are bland, but at least benign, giving only irrefutable facts. They do not attempt to be thought provoking.
Controversy over textbook selection is not new. I was content to sit on the sidelines when people in Texas and Kansas attempted to force Intelligent Design into science classes, thinking those weirdo states will get what they deserve. (Sorry, I know it is shallow thinking.) I thought it was someone else's fight. But this is different. Science is science, the facts of the scientific process will win out in the end for any curious open mind. History IS subjective and is more easily manipulated, and has a greater impact, IMHO, on what direction our political and social evolution takes. The highest rated cable network actively moving to change the basis of history instruction is taking this fight to new level.
I have two purposes for this diary:
1-to bring attention to this threat
2-to ask for guidance on how to act. (This is my 2nd diary and I am a bit tepid.)
To paraphrase Austin Powers, "History is my thing, baby!!" I have time and resources to act. My initial idea is to research Schweikart's "48 Liberal Lies" point by point in an ongoing series of diaries along with the publisher contact information so that our side of the issue is also heard by the corporates. I also wonder how Media Matters might be "nudged" into addressing this weekly Fox segment. Please provide any and all input on how to be effective.
This Fox News ploy is dangerous. If not countered by a corresponding action to tell publishers to ignore the wingnut drive to revise history, it could result in a conservative litmus test of what our students learn about the past and effect their view of the present. I fear the other side may finally be starting to play chess, and we have to have an effective move on this.
"He who controls the past, controls the future." George Orwell