It's very important that when we deal with history or political issues, to realize there are no absolute truths. Instead, truth is dependent on context - or rather "reality is not independent of context". Almost every action does not necessarily have a moral value associated with it. For instance, the bombing of Hiroshima was not necessarily wrong because it prevented more lives from being lost. Of course there are exceptions to the rule: the enslavement of African-Americans for instance was undoubtedly an evil which hopefully is never again repeated, as was the Holocaust.
An action taken out of context may or may not be right or wrong but only in the proper context can it be given a moral right-wrong value. Put another way it is not about what abstract facts are right or wrong based "on paper" on what you might have read in a text book, but what is right or wrong based on the humanistic interpretation and the overarching worldview of justice that makes something right or wrong.
An action taken out of context may or may not be right or wrong but only in the proper context can it be given a moral right-wrong value. Put another way it is not about what abstract facts are right or wrong based "on paper" on what you might have read in a text book, but what is right or wrong based on the humanistic interpretation and the overarching worldview of justice that makes something right or wrong.
It is similar when we talk about history. History is re-writable. In fact history MUST be re-written constantly if humanity wishes to progress. Of course we would rather certain people not re-write history, for instance neo-Nazis or the evil Chinese Communist Party, but those are examples of regressive individuals who can only do harm to the human race. When we are honestly examining history for flaws in order to achieve a higher level or to bring society to the next stage in development the ends can certainly justify the means even if "our" own version of history cannot be proven directly.
This Naturally this takes a lot of mental discipline. Admittedly there are times when the flow of events requires us to bend the rules of perception even beyond the objectivity of reason. In times like this we require mental discipline - we must be able to suspend disbelief of believing something that is not obvious had we not applied mental discipline, or we must be able to block ourselves from seeing obvious arguments that could be un-progressive or un-democratic.
This Naturally this takes a lot of mental discipline. Admittedly there are times when the flow of events requires us to bend the rules of perception even beyond the objectivity of reason. In times like this we require mental discipline - we must be able to suspend disbelief of believing something that is not obvious had we not applied mental discipline, or we must be able to block ourselves from seeing obvious arguments that could be un-progressive or un-democratic.
In short, history IS politics. One feeds into the other and vice versa and they are inseperable. The two are not distinct identities. Therefore, it is impossible to call oneself a progressive activist if they do not have a good control over their historical worldview and the interpretation of reality.
