What Are the History Wars?
The Deep Spiritual Quest for Legitimacy
In this article, I look into the origins and consequences of the History Wars, how they have shaped our understanding of the past and influenced our present, and how we can win the current History War.
In academia, studying history has always been a subject of intense debate and discussion. People care about their past and tend to take it personally. They take sides, even when they should strive for objectivity. At its worst, they dismiss objectively as a goal, treating its pursuit as naivete. Yet, those who reject objectivity do any truth they hold a disservice. When no one is expected even to attempt to be objective, all subjective thoughts are equal, even outright lies.
Even so, history has always been debated. That will not change. However, discussions around historical events have intensified recently and become known as the "History Wars." These debates are fought in newspapers, classrooms, podcasts, political campaigns, and between friends at the kitchen table. And now in corporate boardrooms and religious conferences. They revolve around the interpretation and representation of historical events, particularly those related to issues of justice, truth regarding European and Atlantic racism, and colonialism. The impact of these debates is significant, as they have the potential to weaken democracy and delegitimize modern nation-states. I call it the current Anglophone-panic as it mainly affects the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. But the ideas of the Anglomundus - what I call the UK and the former colonies, countries closest to Britain in culture - have a way of exporting themselves abroad. Not the least because the greatness of America and the UK makes other countries jealous, and their intellectuals foolishly jump on our bandwagons.
Immediately, counterarguments appear: Have you considered that these debates are actually healthy for democracy, as they allow for diverse voices to be heard and different perspectives to be explored?
Or, What about those who argue that the "History Wars" are a necessary reckoning with a painful past and a way to confront ongoing systems of oppression and inequality?
And the pleading: How would you address those who claim that the impact of these debates is overblown and that they are simply a natural part of intellectual discourse?
First, any debate that premises the idea that the state - our government - is illegitimate and should be overthrown is unhealthy for that state. Most of us have no patience for anarchist or civil war fantasies, and nor should we. Second, the framework of Kehinde Andrews of Birmingham City University and Imbram X. Kendi of Boston University does not offer solutions; it only provides targets for rage and *sinecures for its proponents. And finally, it is clear from the riots, vandalism, resignations, firings, blacklisting and political battles over what schools will and will not teach that the situation is severe and the argument that the concern over the history wars is overblown is an attempt to forestall pushback and effective responses to bad actors. Across the Blue/Red line of the Democrats and the Republicans, political malefactors and their allies are using history as a plaything to ruin Anglo-American society.
Sinecure: a position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit.
The modern history wars originated in the late 20th century as a result of significant transformations in the study of history. Traditional historical narratives, which typically centered around the accomplishments of powerful figures and dominant cultures, were fiercely challenged by emerging voices, usually new scholars at universities. These scholars wanted to highlight the experiences and perspectives of "marginalized" groups and were motivated by so-called "social justice" movements. It became increasingly clear to them that it was crucial to recognize the contributions and struggles of historically oppressed communities. But who counted as marginalized, and who needed to recognize them?
A big problem is that the sins of the past sometimes weigh us down, and often, those who point out the sins do not offer a way to drop the weight. We do not need to be weighed down with the deeds of the dead and unpunishable. At the same time, why waste time defending bad things done by dead men? That’s a choice. You don’t have to do it, and you lose nothing, absolutely nothing, by not wasting your time defending the bad things of the past. It is a trap to put you on the defensive over things that happened long before anyone in living memory was alive. Don’t fall for it. It is also almost diabolically designed to split the children from their parents. You can’t spend your time teaching your kids to “Speak up,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Be a Gentleman,” and “Integrity is what you do when no one is looking” and then waste your time defending historical figures who on the major moral issues of their day got it catastrophically wrong. Again, it's a trap you do not have to fall into. Don’t let the history wars mentally jiu-jitsu you into defending injustice.
Social Justice is a Christian Value
Now, it is essential to note that social justice is not a Marxist concept; it is, in fact, a Christian one. It is the idea that everyone in a society - the social - is entitled to equal dignity and just treatment under the equitable rules of society. The assumption that everyone is entitled to these rights emerges from Christian thought, as do the concepts of human rights, which inspired Anglo-American Protestant Abolitionists and is clearly expressed in the Declaration of Independence. When people on the "Christian" Right reject these concepts, they make the term Christan almost meaningless. You do not surrender your language if the terms are being misused or abused.
A problem of the history wars is that facts are sacrificed to emotion, virtues are too individualized as if society does not influence your ability to live a righteous life, and sins are too collectivized, as if individuals do not bear personal responsibility for their bad behavior. Then you have the unserious grifters on the right who stir up resentment and try to make people feel vulnerable or attacked when past sins are brought up. They bank on immaturity and hope that the “woke” do something they can use to boost their profile. Anti-Woke Inc. doesn’t want things to get better because then what would they sell? Unfortunately, many Americans are caught between two grifter operations that play off each other. Fake and deliberate outrage has become a marketing ploy.
And yet, despite that, the history wars are real, with real political consequences. Why support national defense if the country still exists to oppress you, not in the past but in the present? Or why, if everyone is racist, should you shun racists? Cynical political actors often promote the history wars.
Take the Scottish National Party (SNP) for example. Their entire case for independence is built on resentment about how England has supposedly treated Scotland. But never mind that Scotland and England have been the same sovereign state, “Great Britain,” since 1707! Most governments in the world are younger than 1707, and the English-Scottish Union is one of the oldest and is the most successful in the world. Yet, the governing party of Scotland exists to secede from the British Union because of resentment. Part of their game is to attack the British Empire's very real misdeeds during colonialism and imperialism as if the Scots were not there shoulder to shoulder with the English. Convenient lies. But if one mentions Scotland's benefits from the old British Empire, we hear crickets. Unfortunately, the SNP is proof that much of the history wars are about saying whatever is necessary to get what you want when history should be about learning the truth of the past so we can honor those who are honorable, avoid the mistakes of everyone else, and be well-informed citizens who can govern themselves rather than be ruled by a degenerate over-class.
But hey, that’s just me, a professor who just got his Ph.D. and wants to empower people to own the truth and improve their societies. We have all come too far to surrender our liberty to grifters and bad scholars. Don’t fear the history wars. Fight them with truth to win.