Show lo Fraught Peril Earlier this week national news services carried details of the plan of a patriotic organization to ask a state legislature for authorization for citizens' committees to weed out school textbooks that contained Claiming that the plan is not but is rather a guarantee that American youths learn the truth of this nation's greatness rather than read works that debunk certain historical events and the proposed committee would be composed of representatives from various interest Under no circumstances should this insidious scheme be Although superficially the proposal may find some sentimental Dangerous Situation jingoistic it actually is far more far or other more dangerous than any threat of that politicians are so fond of No no coalition of groups is capable of deciding what constitutes truth in American What possible criteria could be other than the personal bias of those doing the big business agree to a history text that described cut-throat competition or growth of Would labor consider to discuss featherbedding or other union it a true picture How would politicians feel about an analysis of the Tea Pot Dome scandal or the Deep Freezer And what of books discussing evolution or the philosophies of would they be Surely American students have a right a duty even to know that George Washington sometimes made that Abraham Lin- Give Complete Picture coin was an astute politician as well as an eminent that the United States diplomatic history is not entirely without a Experience in other countries is clearly demonstrative of just what does happen when books are culled to weed out Nazi Germany achieved world-wide notoriety for its infamous of the Why were these books Those in power did not feel that the truth as Nazi's saw it was Or again consider Fascistic Following investigation of school texts after Allied forces occupied it was reported that grave errors of historical fact were included in geography Because such distortion constituted the truth as those in power wished it had And as a matter of here in the United States a powerful interest group once attacked a series of social science books as and In fact so incensed did the group become that it published its own of American That Previous Experience it is interesting to was considered by professional historians not committees of interest but rather persons somewhat more qualified to here the irrefutable fact is brought out that opinions vary about what is what is Is utilization of the democratic practice of who can drum up the most votes to be the ultimate judge of The proposed screening of texts is because with the complete divorce from reality that is as demonstrated both in this nation and future citizens will find themselves completely incapable of making wise decisions about vital When one is given only one side of a or when one reads only a sugar coated version of past it is calamitous to expect truly democratic It is then that dictators find it most easy to rise to to make the necessary choices of Barbara |