Joel+M’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech


 * Title: **


 * The Truth, and Nothing But **


 * Text of Speech: **

Earlier this year, I remember reading an article on the Huffington Post. __This Is The AP U.S. History Course Some Conservatives Want Dropped__ was the title. I had just embarked on the journey of becoming an AP US History student, and because of that, I decided to read further and find out what all the fuss was about. After concluding the article, I was appalled. It was not due to the fact that the test had gotten slightly longer, that was more of a love-hate situation. I was appalled by the strong backlash certain groups had towards the modifications.

The new curriculum included a more enriching perception of First Nations people. It spoke of the complexities of such cultures as well as how advanced they actually were. The new curriculum emphasized the English white superiority complex and how this led to clashes between First Nations people, the creation of the institution of slavery and Manifest Destiny ideology. It described the Mexican-American War, the overthrow of the kingdom of Hawaii and the Phillippine-American war as acts with imperialistic motives.

The curriculum was called a " [|radically revisionist view of American history] ” that painted a negative picture of this country. A school board in Colorado stated that the material should promote more “ [|citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system] .” “ We shouldn’t be encouraging our kids to think that America is a bad place... that’s concerning to me,” Julie Williams, a school board member in Colorado, said. No, that should not be what’s concerning you, Julie. What should be concerning you is the fact that a development of a US History course, a course in which a richer explanation of people and events in this country takes place, is being attacked and described as unpatriotic or not right. That just because a course is showing the full picture, the good, the bad, and the ugly of our history, such course is somehow a "leftist revisionist slant on history."

We study history to learn about people. To learn about patterns of the past, and to understand issues that have shaped the world we inhabit today. History is the study of human beings and their interactions with one another. History helps develop a foundation of belief systems for every individual, it helps people formulate opinions based on certain events scattered in time. But, for such learning to properly take place, one must study the purest form of history, the complete form of history. You need to learn about the successes as well as the failures of a country in order to have the deepest understanding of it.

The reason I was so shocked to learn about the outcry caused by the new curriculum was because people did not support a course that dove deeper into aspects of our history. To me, a more complete view of the history of the United States was a progressive step, yet there were people that were infuriated because the bad and the ugly were being taken more into account. I was dismayed because, to me, sugar-coating a history course is the biggest offense you can commit. To me, embracing blind patriotism and the positive events of this country while brushing the negatives under the carpet is actually unpatriotic. This biased perception of history distorts the lessons we learn from studying history. By not embracing the negative aspects of the subject as equally as the positive, we commit an injustice, and the truth, the complete truth, is censored. This scares me.

The Japanese were not aggressors during World War II. There was no such thing as comfort women, women from Korea and China were not taken by force, brutally raped tortured and killed. Now, if you took world history last year, you should be confused right now, because in fact we learned that such actions did take place. Such actions are part of the ugly truth about an event of that time period, and not acknowledging them is dismaying. Yet Japan is fighting this battle right now. Japanese schools have proposed to cut out these factors completely from the Japanese history curriculum, choosing to evade them.

The purpose of this revisionist history is to depict Japan as a more exceptional country towards its citizens, yet something that is intended to benefit Japan will harm it in the end. By censoring the bad parts of the country’s history, the Japanese will not understand those dark chapters. They will not know the complete truth, and they will be less able to advance as a society. They will not understand how people acted at a key point in their history. They will lack a fundamental understanding of their society, and more importantly, of themselves. By not taking such events into account, the Japanese run the risk of not learning the lesson and being more susceptible to participate in similar actions in future. Similarly, if our country decided to dismiss unsavory aspects of our history, we would be following the same path. If we fluff up our curriculum with praise towards the United States and squeeze out the wrongdoings of this nation, we are harming our society and making us less likely to understand the consequences of our decisions.

People who are against this new change in the course often say it is unpatriotic, that we need to add more positive aspects of our history so citizens don’t hate the country they live in. Yet, by adding and emphasizing the ugly truths of the United States, you are making the curriculum more patriotic than it has ever been. By including the good, the bad and the ugly, our understanding of the United States is enhanced. Learning about all aspects gives an individual the opportunity to develop a clearer picture on the story of America’s past. Patriotism is defined as love for one’s country. By understanding more completely and deeply this nation’s past, an individual can develop a frank and well-founded fondness for his country.

Not a day goes by in which I do not realize the luck that I have for living in this country. The fact that I can wake up, go to journalism class and know that I can draw an editorial cartoon without the worry of it being removed fills me with gratitude. Or that I can look up anything I am intrigued by online and study it as long as I please, without encountering online censorship like they have in China. This country is a land made up of freedoms some do not have the privilege to enjoy, and I’m thankful that I can develop and grow as a person in it. I want my kids to be able to grow up in a country that informs them about all aspects of our history. I want my kids to grow up in a society that does not distort the truth, because the twisted truth will in the end become the basis of their belief system. I want to see our history through big, transparent lenses and not muddied ones. An America where people are enraged not because of the changes and revisions in a history course, but because of blind, uninformed jingoism.

I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I appreciate and thank the College Board for revising the course and including more information. Thank you, College Board, for giving me a fuller understanding of the history of the nation I call my own, and for making me develop into a more informed, patriotic and educated American because of it.


 * Cite your sources: **

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/24/ap-us-history-controversy_n_5875264.html