Of the many things Dr. Bezio talked about in her podcast, this line really stood out to me: “If we believe history, poor people, women and people of color never did anything.” This just shows that history is determined by those who write it, and those who write it are the people in power. And for the majority of history (and present day I suppose), the people in power are white men. Even if the story has the same facts, it differs based on who tells it – this is human nature. It would be okay for this to be the case if everyone was given the same platform and ability to voice their side of the story and their perception of the circumstance, but when only one group of people is given the privilege to tell the story, we consider that to be the story because there is no other side.
This podcast resonated with a lot of the things I have been thinking about in our present society. Dr. Bezio talks about how history, up until recently, is focused on great people – the leaders, the voices, the change-makers, and these people are vital for movements (like MLK, George Washington, etc.), but they would not be nearly as successful without their followers and the people on their teams whispering in their ears and making decisions. History is written to make certain people look good, but that is not the real history – it is tailored and modified and exaggerated so the powerful people can live on as “the greats” in the eyes of future generations. But, did everyone at that time really think they were so great? What about the bad decisions they made? What would those whose voices were oppressed say about these leaders? Dr. Bezio gives the example of Queen Elizabeth I. She says how we will never know if she was liked by her constituents because if they were asked and said they did not like her, they would be killed. So it’s possible they were telling the truth, but it could also be the case they were lying so they would not be castrated and decapitated. The problem is we’ll never know, and this means we will never have the full story about history. Yes, we have uncovered more and more, but I don’t even think we can be sure the facts we find out later are true either.
The only thing we can do is make a conscious effort for all the voices of people living today to be heard and documented so that when today becomes history to future generations, they have the full story. It is unfortunate to say that this is not the case. I think because of social media, a lot of words will be permanent and everyone is given a voice – sort of. It seems like everyone should have a voice, let’s say. But cancel culture makes this not the case. Right now, we are hearing from pretty much just one side on a number of issues (and the side differs) and a lot of people are making assumptions about what others believe because we assume the voices we hear are the majority opinion of everyone – even those who are not speaking up. A lot of opinions are being taken off of social media outlets (or moved so far down that it becomes nearly impossible to find), facts are being skewed to push a certain agenda, and people live in fear of getting “cancelled” or thrown into a certain category based on their opinion. So, a lot of people with the “minority” opinion on a number of issues stay quiet because it is not worth the scrutiny or the attack they will receive (reminds me of Elizabethan England without the execution). In my eyes, we are not laying a good foundation to have this history be the real history, and it is sad because this is history repeating itself and I don’t think a lot of people are noticing that.
It is interesting to think about the number of untold stories or sides throughout history. How different would the world be today if we knew those stories? I personally believe we would be in a far better place.
I love your analysis about how leaders are kept alive through history. I also had a thought that while many of these leaders are commended for their actions and also used as motivation throughout various areas of life, it is important to remember that these leaders had both followers and enemies. The views of these leaders was not always positive. They too experienced hatred and bigotry.
I think you make such an interesting point about social media, and the role that cancel culture plays. It is interesting because people have so much information available to them and content to consume that will help them make their own decisions, but once people start throwing the word “canceled” into the mix, people tend to hop on that bandwagon, instead of formulating their own opinions and informing themselves. One event tends to define people in history even if there is more to the story, or there is more to them as a person, and over time people and events that are happening right now will end up being reduced to only parts of their lived experiences.
I also think your point about cancel culture is really important. Social media is playing a huge part in our understandings of current events, and it will be interesting to see how history is remembered. While social media is giving ordinary people a platform for their voices to be heard, as well as a platform to hold those in power accountable via cancel culture, it also facilitating the spread of harmful misinformation.