Sunday, May 23, 2010

Who won at the Alamo?

In Texas, a state in which a sitting governor proclaims intentions of seceding from the nation, it is hard to be shocked by news from there. Oh, but, the lone star state is at it again.

Yes, the supersized state that gave us W or by his full name George Walker Bush, can still produce shocking news that has us sane folk saying WTF?!

Texas has decided to rewrite American History, and here are a few tidbits:

The American Slave trade morphs into The Atlantic Triangular Trade.

Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers grouped together as dangerous radicals.

Southern Confederate leaders have their contributions hyped.

Thomas Jefferson is virtually ignored for being too liberal - especially for declaring separation of state and church.

Witch hunter Senator Joseph McCarthy is presented as a hero for his, I see commies everywhere hearings.

Japanese Americans, interned during WWII, were not unfairly targeted.

This bizarre manifesto, authored by ultra-conservatives whom have hijacked the Texas Department of Education, would only be harmless fodder for late night comics if the impact wasn't so widely felt. But, as MSNBC news reports:

Texas is the second-largest textbook buyer in the nation. Because of its prominence, many textbooks are written to meet that state's standards — books that are in turn frequently used in other states.

The reason for this faux sanitized history is explained by Cynthia Dunbar, leader of the defacto re-education movement:

We are fighting for our children's education and our nation's future. In Texas, we have certain statutory obligations to promote patriotism and to promote the free enterprise system. There seems to have been a move away from a patriotic ideology. There seems to be a denial that this was a nation founded under God. We had to go back and make some corrections.

Yes, she used the word denial!

Once again, who won the Alamo? I guess Texas did.