As the Ronald Reagan-era diplomat Jeanne Kirkpatrick once quipped, “Americans need to face the truth about themselves, no matter how pleasant it is.” It seems that the time is ripe for another dose of Kirkpatrick’s good humor. After all, true realism involves a willingness to look not only at the dark side of human existence but also human achievement and virtue.
There was a time when the study of history in this country, especially in primary and secondary schools, was conducted through the lenses of rose-tinted glasses. Figures such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt were larger than life, and better than possible. The Founding was all roses and no thorns. Patriots were virtuous heroes while British loyalists were villains. Pioneers and cowboys were romantic characters while Indians were savage and simple-minded. In the twentieth century, the United States successively saved the world from morally inferior Germans, Japanese, and Russians. Slavery was a small black mark on an otherwise gleaming record of American goodness.
This vision of the past survives, perhaps, in some marginal corners of American culture, but it is moribund, stricken down by a more honest reading of the historical record and openness to voices outside the “WASP” (white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant) elite. Unfortunately, the swinging pendulum did not come to rest at a balanced appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of America’s leaders and institutions; instead, it swung right through to an equally distorted view that overemphasizes moral failure.
We can gain perspective on the situation by engaging in some frank self-reflection. When friends, acquaintances, or unknown observers judge our own character, how would we like them to proceed? By focusing solely on our faults? We all make mistakes. We all say and do things we regret. We all have blind spots. We misstep and offend without even recognizing our error. But we like to think that we are nonetheless “basically good people” who are doing our level best to make our way in the world, to pursue happiness for ourselves and those close to us, and to make the world a better place by caring about and acting for the welfare of others.
In other words, we would consider it unjust for an observer to define us by a single mistake, error in judgment, or even willful sin. We are complex human persons and shouldn’t be reduced to a caricature based on a few actions or the worst features of our personalities.
Should we not apply the same standard of fairness to history?
Slavery was an evil institution that had terrible effects on both oppressed and oppressors and whose horrendous ramifications continue to trouble us today. But the story of the United States is much more than—and much better than—the story of slavery. The story of the American South should not be reduced to slavery. Nor should the stories of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Robert E. Lee.
The story of the European encounter with native peoples contains some grim chapters. We find avarice and atrocities. But there are also edifying chapters. Indians saved the lives of settlers. Missionaries defended the rights of natives in the face of government neglect and injustice.
The story of western expansion includes inexcusable injustices against Native Americans. It shows forth greed, cruelty, and selfishness. But it also displays courage, generosity, and solidarity. We can find plenty of conflict and violence, but we can also find mutual respect, peaceful cultural exchange, and even friendship.
America’s institutions are flawed but not without value. The story of the American military should not be reduced to imperialism and destruction. The entire American Left should not be tarred with the brush of Communism. Protestant Christianity is not all fundamentalism and fanaticism. American Catholicism cannot be understood by focusing solely on abuse and sinister coverups. Law enforcement agencies are not filled with violence-prone bigots.
Sins, errors, failures, and abuse are part of the story, but they aren’t the whole story. When we focus solely on the negative, we are not being more “honest” or “realistic”—we are being less. Someday, future generations will stand in judgment of us. We hope that that they will be fair, maybe even lenient. The Golden Rule says we should do the same unto others.
