Letter: Accurate history integral part of good education

Tuesday, June 5, 2001 | 8:54 a.m.

The movie "Pearl Harbor" has generated controversy in focusing attention on that pivotal event of 60 years ago. Some feel that we must tone down our recognition of this part of history, lest it offend members of the Asian-American community.

An accurate rendering of history will properly portray Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor as an unconscionable act of aggression and brutality. But it will also show that, even as their families languished in internment camps, Americans of Japanese descent remained loyal to this country, and many of them fought for America with dedication and bravery.

People of goodwill have nothing to fear from the truth. But they have everything to fear from those who would hide an inconvenient truth, and rewrite history to suit their selfish purposes. "Political correctness" is moral and historical corruption. It is the enemy of truth, and an obstacle to progress and human understanding.

Teaching our children the history of human events, free of prejudice and propaganda, is an essential responsibility which we have failed to fulfill. Historical facts should not be rearranged for the purpose of pandering to select groups, or promoting anyone's "self-esteem." The most important purpose of teaching accurate history is to help safeguard the future by imparting the wisdom of past experience and the benefits of hard-won knowledge. Without this foundation of knowledge, America's children are left with no real understanding of the world and the forces that have shaped it, no understanding of the nation they will inherit, whose future course they will decide, and no sense of themselves as responsible citizens, and guardians of this Republic.

MARISA HARRIS