(Un)common Sense by James Veloso
(Un)Common Sense

Historical distortionism

Aug 11, 2022, 11:58 PM
James Veloso

James Veloso

Writer/Columnist

There was once a joke in the comic strip "Archie" revolving around George Santayana's famous quote, "Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.”

In one particular episode, the teacher, irritated at Jughead Jones, declared, "I'm afraid you misunderstood me: those who forget history are condemned to repeat history class!"

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In the wake of “Maid in Malacanang,” a film which critics have charged as fiction desperately trying to portray itself as history, there has been revived talk about historians and educational experts on what could be done to reverse the trend of so-called “historical distortionism.”

Personally, I’d like to use the term “historical distortionism” rather than “historical revisionism.”

History, we must remember, is not absolute. As continuous research is made and new evidence is uncovered, there may be times when the historical narrative should be altered to reflect a more accurate rendition of what happened.

It’s when the historical narrative is altered to fit into the beliefs of a certain person or group – no matter how far from the evidence it is – that history becomes distorted.

Historical distortionism has been used by authoritarian regimes in the past to fit into their own interests and justify their abuses in power.

In fact, even before English novelist George Orwell described it so vividly in his novel “1984,” there have already been cases of people being erased from photographs after falling out of grace with dictators, or textbooks being issued that claim that war is justified due to their country’s need for more “living space” or glorifying genocide because certain races are allegedly born with defects that will “contaminate” the “master race.”

And "historical distortionism" doesn't happen at the national level – sometimes, it goes all the way to the local level.

Remember that outlandish claim one guy in Laguna province once made about a losing candidate for congressman of a certain city being a distant relative of Jose Rizal?

As recalled, that remark drew guffaws from historians in the province who pointed out the lack of evidence of Jose Rizal’s connection with the city, much less of that candidate.

They could only surmise that the person who made that claim is just desperately trying to make the candidate “more relatable” to the city’s constituents, especially since he wasn’t even a resident of that city in the first place.

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With classes in “blended mode” during the Covid-19 pandemic, historians and educators said that today’s youth are now more exposed to historical distortions that are being propagated through social media sites.

What’s worse, however, is that some teachers are reportedly avowed supporters of the Marcoses, who have been accused of unleashing trolls at every front to “deodorize” the horrors of Martial Law and the near-economic meltdown that, among others, sparked the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

I believe it’s not too late for our educators and historians to set the record straight – but it will take a hard time, given the Filipinos’ predilection to hear only what they want to hear.

What should they do? Simple. Keep it up. Keep making people interested in history. Keep them remembering what happened in the past. Keep them reminded of the lessons that need to be learned in order for our country to move forward.

It’s often been said that to understand the future, one must always study the past. Or, to use a Filipino saying,

“Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.”

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