Being a fan of history I never really stop reading about it, even after school. I know that a school curriculum cannot fit all of history into the course and that some things must be made concise in order to be practical but as I continue to read up on it I've come to learn that my concept of history wasn't evolving, so to speak, but it was being clarified.
For instance, most people remember the Civil War as Lincoln's struggle against the Southern States who became disaffected with the North and- personally- Lincoln for abolishing slavery- a way of livelihood for the American South and a major economic enterprise for Britain (among other things like the massive opium trade into China). That whole chapter in history is made to appear just like that- taken out of context. The clearer version is that the civil war was started by British agents outside and British agents inside the United States in order to try to affect a breaking up of the country that defied the traditional form of rule. This was not the first of such attempts and it was not the last. They have tried everything from assassination to destabilizing the US currency through massive inflation- even destroying Lincoln's novel approach to the Greenbacks, which met with limited success until the British Banks- even more so endangered by this idea- flooded the nation with currency in order to kill the initiative with inflation. Lincoln is documented as having spoken out against Britain's attempts to undermine the American government and assassination by them was a clear and present possibility.
But all this information is left out. Information that changes the view of the events both then, before, and after this conflict. Today, I could ask a number of people what the Civil War is about. And those I get to before they have a chance to quickly google it and pretend to have known all along will have said that it was about freeing the slaves. Not a lie, no, but a half-truth that seems, when you consider the craziness of omitting such a impactful point from the situation- a deliberate attempt to alter the view of history.
I certainly did not know of it and it is because of this that I believe you could have grown up an A student in your curriculum and still be short of the facts because in the end, you cannot experience history for yourself. You have no way of verifying anything. You can only trust in the information that is presented to you and...gosh...it might not all be given out to you as it should. Besides omission there may be alteration or even fabrication.
The same goes for any knowledge. You can never be sure unless you have directly witnessed, were directly involved in the matter. If not...you are simply well versed in disinformation and have become nothing more than someone else's echo.
For instance, most people remember the Civil War as Lincoln's struggle against the Southern States who became disaffected with the North and- personally- Lincoln for abolishing slavery- a way of livelihood for the American South and a major economic enterprise for Britain (among other things like the massive opium trade into China). That whole chapter in history is made to appear just like that- taken out of context. The clearer version is that the civil war was started by British agents outside and British agents inside the United States in order to try to affect a breaking up of the country that defied the traditional form of rule. This was not the first of such attempts and it was not the last. They have tried everything from assassination to destabilizing the US currency through massive inflation- even destroying Lincoln's novel approach to the Greenbacks, which met with limited success until the British Banks- even more so endangered by this idea- flooded the nation with currency in order to kill the initiative with inflation. Lincoln is documented as having spoken out against Britain's attempts to undermine the American government and assassination by them was a clear and present possibility.
But all this information is left out. Information that changes the view of the events both then, before, and after this conflict. Today, I could ask a number of people what the Civil War is about. And those I get to before they have a chance to quickly google it and pretend to have known all along will have said that it was about freeing the slaves. Not a lie, no, but a half-truth that seems, when you consider the craziness of omitting such a impactful point from the situation- a deliberate attempt to alter the view of history.
I certainly did not know of it and it is because of this that I believe you could have grown up an A student in your curriculum and still be short of the facts because in the end, you cannot experience history for yourself. You have no way of verifying anything. You can only trust in the information that is presented to you and...gosh...it might not all be given out to you as it should. Besides omission there may be alteration or even fabrication.
The same goes for any knowledge. You can never be sure unless you have directly witnessed, were directly involved in the matter. If not...you are simply well versed in disinformation and have become nothing more than someone else's echo.