"Lies My Teacher Told Me" - Ch.2 (Columbus, heroification)

     This is my second blog for my ELA class, on the book "Lies My Teacher Told Me".
     To start off, I must say I was really surprised and interested to hear Columbus' true story.  Having been a part of the American educational system, I know that Loewen is dead-on when he says that textbooks tend to leave out much of history's details, which, coincidentally, tend to include some of the more important facts.  I can just imagine some of the excerpts Loewen uses in this book  to have been in the history textbook that I used too!  Now that the author mentions it, the stories of Columbus' journey do tend to be fantastical, with a sort of "the going was hard in the beginning, but perseverance and willpower won out" theme going on.  Though this may easily have been the situation then, according to Loewen's sources, it simply was not!  I believe this is where bias comes in, the textbook authors unconsciously altering the hard facts with assumptions and ideals of their own.  Of course Columbus would seem more heroic after a tiring, dangerous journey; but it seems apparent, according to Loewen, that this was just not the case!  To tell the truth, as someone who received an American education glorifying Columbus and other "heroes", I am a little dissapointed.  As Rab said, only by looking at something from "outside" of it, can you criticize it.  I suppose I can consider myself lucky because I have taken a look at American education from within and without(?).
     Naturally, if one were to "heroify" Columbus and other historical figures who have two sides to their story, one would only write about and accentuate the points generally thought to be good.  However, I believe that in doing so, much of history is stashed in the shadows, which can only lead to misconceptions and untruths in the future.  If Columbus was indeed the man responsible for the vanquishing of numerous tribes and their enslavement, so be it!  This is history, and what took place should be taught properly to all.  How else can we humans learn from our past mistakes?