To the editor:
The articles “History in Ruins” and “History Is Not a Useless Major” (Perspectives, April 2017) are curiously related. The most effective way to manipulate and rule a subjugated population is to destroy or revise its history. The Great Libraries of Alexandria, Egypt, were destroyed by successive invasions, affecting the interpretation of historical fact down to this day. The same thing is being accomplished in this country through undervaluing the teaching of the subject of history. For example, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer could make the breathtaking and dangerous pronouncement that Hitler “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” Spicer was either taught that, or he believed he was speaking to people ignorant of history. History is as important as any other subject in a quality curriculum. Knowledge and understanding of the principles upon which the United States was founded is intrinsic to maintaining a free and democratic society.
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Larry Adams is from Hillsdale, NJ.
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