Whether it was images of a burning monk, a policeman shooting a person in the head, or a child running naked down a highway, (Loewen 246-48) controversial images seem to be left out of certain texts in the hope that the image of America will not be tarnished by its past actions.
In spite of these efforts, some textbooks have been published recently that take a more objective view at American history, one of which is Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Instead of glossing over the conflict in Vietnam, Zinn presents his readers with a view of the war that is as complex as the war itself. He does not apologize for America's actions, nor does he attempt to omit embarrassing episodes, but successfully presents the reader with the objective facts; mainly that America was fighting a war it could not win. While many other textbooks simply discuss the war in a sterilized manner, Zinn allows the reader to feel the emotion of the war by discussing all aspects of it. For instance, the South Vietnamese government has been traditionally represented as independent and democratic, but in fact Zinn asserts that it was "essentially the creation of the United States." (Zinn 472) Additionally, the entire war itself was a creation of the United States as the CIA faked the Gulf of Tonkin incident and lied to the American people to begin the war. And when American soldiers...
Sometimes it is done for the purpose of misplaced patriotism, other times it is meant to create an image of a person that is heroic, or something that can inspire people, but when it is done, for any reason, it is injurious to the students that are required to read the textbook. Generations of students have graduated from American schools lacking certain information necessary to have a full understanding of the history of America. And with this incomplete portrait of American history, many Americans simply misunderstand key issues that are important today. In my studies I have learned that American history is full of both good and bad things which all must be presented in order to get a full understanding of the nation.
Works Cited
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History
Textbook Got Wrong. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007. Print.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York:…
