To a certain extent we build our lives on history. If history has been distorted we build our lives on a lie. How important is it that we discover the truth? Has distortion held us back or led us on the wrong track?

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The knowledge of the history, and the living of life based upon prior happenings can and are totally different things. One can live life, without any prior knowledge of the past, and therefore not building their life on history.

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I think that it is more important for people to simply understand that history is nearly always written from a distorted view, depending on who is writing it. It is rarely, if ever, portrayed accurately. Knowing this, we are then in a position to be far less reliant on the history we are taught.

This is also why there can be such a huge difference in the story of a single battle or event, taken from different perspectives. There are hundreds of examples, but a good one was Prince Vlad, from the 1400's in Transylvania, who was totally ruthless to his enemies, which gave him the nickname of Vlad the impaler. Most of the people in the countries around Transylvania at the time considered him a butcherer and a very evil man. Yet, to his people, he is a folk hero, right up to this day, because his actions protected his country. Same person, two very different historical "takes". Neither is actually wrong, using the perspective with which it is written, but neither is accurate, either.

I agree about some of the suggestions above. I would moderate the view that history is distorted with the view that the distortion is mostly in what passes for a conventional pov, rather than the details of history itself. Otherwise the place of Vlad wouldn't still be discoverable. Laziness of thought, is the problem - made more comfortable by those seeking advantage of the situation. In a similar vein the translations of the Scripture are generally in line with the best thinking, but interpritations abound by whatever seems to suit the day. If the Return of Jesus was already history, interpritations of those who don't know it would need to keep adjusting away from that truth - thus the fate of interpritations.

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Not only do you need to remember that whomever wrote the said history had a skewed vision but also whomever is presenting the history.
Think to the current war in Iraq, a woman whose husband dies in battle and did NOT support the war will have another version than if she had supported the war. 2 sides to every story and all that rot.
In the instance of education in regards to history, It's very important that all sides be represented. Even if that means having two or three different teachers for the same subject, kind of a round robin effect. I had a class like that once, It was a neo classical liberal arts class and there were 4 different labs to it one dealing with history, art, science, and sociology, personally I suffered through the art section, and suffer I did. (the professor said in side notes on most all of my papers that she detected a harshly sarcastic tone, oopsie!) Looking back on it though, it was a brilliant idea. The same material all presented by 4 different professors and then gleaned for the different points of view.

In the end, history is only as good as the person you hear it from. Hence when doing research it is always smart to get more than 5 or even 10 sources to verify your information. I have an accordion file of information Ive swiped from the internet, on everything from celtic druids, wicca, faeries, and astrology to the maya, native americans, tarot, runes, and totems.

But this is only my opinion...
Wendy

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Excellent points, Wendy. Probably the most thing important we can learn is how to research.

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How can an historical document NOT be subject to the point of view of the recorder?

Trying to balance points of view is the chief "nut to crack" in historical research.

For an historical work that boldly illustrates this fact, I would suggest the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis.

Regards,
Scott

Absolutely, Scott! We are "only" human and thus reflective of our beliefs, opinions, and other feelings. The Bible has been edited, censored and written by humankind, so even it, for me as a Christian, has to be taken with a certain amount of doubting.

I agree. Interestingly, some colleges are now beginning to teach kids HOW to study and research. It is a long time coming, but it is important. That is what being informed is all about.

To me, history always shows up as a story. The way it appears to me is often (if not always) viewpoint and an "edited account." As in, these are the details that we ask that you pay attention to, everything else (of which we are unaware of)..well, you don't need to know about that. When it comes to "facts," you'd think the more perspectives the better, but sometimes we have very different versions of how things happened. And sometimes we even have opposing versions of how the same event occurred. I tend to place "interpretation" over "fact" as the way to understand history. And I also think cultural (artistic) stories are at times more valid than some of the "factual representations" of events. I think a study of both the academic and the artistic interpretations of events provides as much light on a subject (his-story) that collectively seems every bit as dark and mysterious as the future.