Later today I will be talking with a fellow history teacher, who teaches at a private school and is planning a student trip to Civil War battlefields and other related sites.
Lost causers are pushing lies, whether they know it or not. If he wants to expose them to the lies, there are any number of YouTube videos that feature those lies and he can, in the classroom, deconstruct and debunk each one of them without putting the lost causers in a position of perceived authority in front of the students. No historian of any credibility will be pushing lost cause lies.
I agree, but it's a bit more complicated when it comes to this trip. This is a teacher that is incredibly smart and responsible when it comes to teaching this subject. He would never expose his students to such a person without giving his students the opportunity to properly process what was said. In this case, his students will be meeting with a couple historians on the final night of the trip. Still, we both agreed that we don't need to give these people a platform. As you correctly point out, there are plenty of ways to teach the Lost Cause. Thanks for the comment, Al.
I mean, is there really a reason to entertain these people with viewership?
The talking points and common arguments are well documented. Typically they are recycled (I hear a lot about "taxes" now) but that isn't particularly new.
I agree with you. The lost cause should be taught as the effective propaganda that it was, not as history.
Lost causers are pushing lies, whether they know it or not. If he wants to expose them to the lies, there are any number of YouTube videos that feature those lies and he can, in the classroom, deconstruct and debunk each one of them without putting the lost causers in a position of perceived authority in front of the students. No historian of any credibility will be pushing lost cause lies.
I agree, but it's a bit more complicated when it comes to this trip. This is a teacher that is incredibly smart and responsible when it comes to teaching this subject. He would never expose his students to such a person without giving his students the opportunity to properly process what was said. In this case, his students will be meeting with a couple historians on the final night of the trip. Still, we both agreed that we don't need to give these people a platform. As you correctly point out, there are plenty of ways to teach the Lost Cause. Thanks for the comment, Al.
I mean, is there really a reason to entertain these people with viewership?
The talking points and common arguments are well documented. Typically they are recycled (I hear a lot about "taxes" now) but that isn't particularly new.
I couldn't agree more.
Well said.
Thanks for the feedback, Stiv. Great to hear from you.