The Roundup Top Ten for September 25, 2020
What Trump is Missing About American Historyby Leslie M. Harris and Karin Wulf"Journalists and politicians are examples of two groups that are differently but equally susceptible to a desire for clarity and simplicity about the historical past. But the past is rarely clear and was never simple." |
Are We Ready to Rehabilitate George W. Bush’s Reputation?by Andrew R. GraybillThe presidency of Donald Trump has allowed supporters of George W. Bush to push for a reevaluation of a man who left office with historically high unfavorability ratings. A SMU professor digs into recent books by way of evaluating whether Dubya will get a raw deal from history. |
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Made The Impossible Look Easyby Serena MayeriRuth Bader Ginsburg's achievements were remarkable, but a professor of law and legal history argues that her determination to open paths for others to follow her was greater. |
Is Academe Awash in Liberal Bias? Most People Think So. They're Wrongby Naomi Oreskes and Charlie TysonAvailable data do not support claims that university professors are extremely leftist, that a majority of students are being educated by left-wing professors, or that academe is biased against conservatives. So why do so many people believe these claims? Methodologically flawed studies and a long-running culture war. |
Donald Trump’s Bizarre History Conferenceby Ron Radosh"There is good history and bad history, and either can be written by historians on the left or on the right. There is no such thing as left-wing history or right-wing history. There is only historical research and the conclusions drawn from evidence." |
Is Freedom White?by Jefferson CowieIn American mythology, there exists a gauzy past when white citizens were left alone to do as they pleased with their land and their labor (even if it was land stolen and labor enslaved). In the legend, those days of freedom and equality were, and still are, perpetually under assault. |
Trump’s Vision for American History Education Is a Nightmareby L.D. Burnett"As a historian who writes about the field of history’s place in the culture wars of the 1980s, I watched this conference and saw one long exercise in logrolling for the participants’ politically intertwined institutional commitments." |
The Endless Fantasy of American Powerby Andrew BacevichNeither Trump nor Biden seems prepared to do the necessary work of moving military power and force from the center of American foreign policy. The consequence will be further endless war at the expense of the global-scale policies needed to confront the most urgent threats. |
The Militia Menaceby Tom MockaitisThe time has come to stop mincing words about militias and other far-right extremist groups. They are at best-armed vigilantes and at worst domestic terrorists acting on behalf of a racist ideology. |
Scapegoating Antifa for Starting Wildfires Distracts from the Real Causesby Steven C. BedaThe idea of left-wing radicals starting wildfires in the Pacific Northwest dates back to timber companies blaming the Industrial Workers of the World for blazes as a way to discredit demands for workers' power through unions. |