100% agree. My response to anyone who says anything along those lines is "The founders of our country made sure that we COULD change things as time goes along. They're called ammendments".

I think we should rewrite the constitution every generation or so. The 2nd amendment, for example, needs to go.

@@matthuck378 Jefferson agreed with you. Every 20 years or so, he said, the Constitution should probably be rewritten and updated.

And it’s basically unique to ‘Murica. In Europe, for example, where the various nations have exhaustingly long lists of figures who qualify as candidates for “great men” for the ignorantly idle to entertain in their minds, it isn’t common practice to praise every single thing they did in their lives and entangle those actions into a gold standard of principles for whichever nation. Well.. it was common practice for a time, and that turned out fantastically for the entire world to enjoy. Most nations aren’t perpetually stuck worshipping a roughly 50-year time period when men wore tights and powdered wigs.

Yup, this world is COMPLETELY different from the one they lived in. They wouldn't know left from right in today's society. The notion that we, the people alive today, should be sticking like glue to the ideas written on a document nearly TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO, is incomprehensibly narrow-minded, and borders on religious ideology. 1/4 of a thousand years... There's a very fine line between that and saying that we should be living our lives according to an even older book, like the Bible. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing religion - you are free to believe what you want to believe, you can live your life within our society however you want as long as it's not disruptive to society or the lives of others. But the moment you say "this is what we ALL should be doing because this is what THEY wrote, and if you don't agree, YOU'RE wrong", you are no better than a religious extremist forcing your beliefs on the lives of others. We need laws and guidelines grounded in the reality of the world we live in today, not how things were 250 years ago. bBesides, America was literally founded on the idea of transformation and change. That was the entire point. They didn't even have cars, man. They didn't have CARS. COMPLETELY different world....

Qwerty3515 Hakim no then they would use that to justify escalation

"americans not only bomb you back to stone age, 20 yeaers later the come back to make a movie how bombing you made ther soilders sad" - a meme on the internet

@@MB-yk1qk that’s not a meme that’s every movie Hollywood makes about the Iraq war

The thing that would disgust them most would be the large standing army, which of course would be a sign of military tyranny. Like to see the GOP deal with that bind lol.

@@cmbeadle2228 depends on which one. I think a lot of them would find women and non whites voting even more disgusting

"You freed the WHO?"

My strict constructionalist rationale for ignoring what the founding fathers would think: the founding fathers included in the constitution the ability to amend the constitution. If they wanted their word to be the only word on how the US would function, they would never included the ability to amend the constitution. Besides, that whole "interpret the constitution as the founders intended" is a BS excuse to not change anything. I'd go so far as to say it was a catchphrase coined as way to make rolling back the liberties granted under the Warren court sound American. I wouldn't be surprised if it was invented in a Federalist society think tank by people going "we need to find a way to get rid of that pesky Miranda decision without making it sound like we're taking away rights for no reason."

@@timothymclean honestly, the one bright spot of thinking about how the ~founding fathers~ would react to modern society is imagining Ben Franklin geeking out over all the ways we use electricity nowadays and bragging to all the others about how he 'basically invented all of it' lol.

Golgotha_Mythos69 *becomes a tyrant*

The irony with that quote made by him

@@kinggwyn3056 True, but Robespierre died soon after the French revolution, so he had little time to be a tyrant, or in service of such men.

That comes from a guy who would have enforced thought crimes if he had the means to do so. Also he was killed by his own government during the revolution because he spiraled out of control.

@@juhonieminen4219 I mean, the dude definitely was a tyrant. The length of rule doesn't change that

Were not all that bad.

I have to draw this.

You’re denying historical FACT??

That's a very entertaining visual, ngl

Honestly, as a German I am so glad we lost the war... Not only because of the nazis (and that’s a freaking good reason alone), but also that we can’t be proud of the thing our ancestors did. That’s a really good thing to have...

That scene was great.

Sopranos is sometimes rather woke. Not sure if intentionally or not.

I'm a second-gen Italian-Canadian and that's my favourite episode of Sopranos, hands down. I might have cracked a rib from laughing when Furio yells "I fuckin' hate the North!" and the rest of them just sit there slack-jawed, and then the episode gets even better from there.

But we're not talking about Southern Italians. We're talking about Americans who happen to have Italian parents/grandparents. It's unreasonable to expect them to share all the biases specific to Italy that their forefathers had. Also, being in the mafia could means loads of easy money, sex, and glory. And it's what their fathers did.

@@illerac84 Yes.

I think that quote is amazing. I just wish more people could see the wisdom in it.

I would shorten it to "Your comfort is not more important than the truth".

*if

Words to live by.

I think we have a very flawed concept of what a hero is. No one has an impeccable record because we as humans are complex, and that should be considered when we choose the people we look up to. We've all gone through that time in our adolescence when we realize our parents aren't as amazing as we thought, and now we are going through that period as a society. Learning that Newton constantly abused his power shouldn't deter you from believing his contributions to science were instrumental in our understanding of physics, for example. And that's not even considering the people we've thrown into the hero category because it's easier to call them 'brave' than to acknowledge the faults in our system.

Underrated comment

This is a great comment. Very well said, mate.

I'm ponder that "no one really wants to be a hero.

Ho chi mihn is pretty cool. He still a historical hero to me

True the whole point of history is to learn from it

Respect.

Yes I agree. Every culture does this. Like the myth that America invented slavery. A slave culture existed in Africa for thousands of years before it found its way to America. This is no excuse just a good example of shameful acts being mythologised.

This is something that worries me about modern day germany. They try to act like their past didnt happen, instead of openly talking about what happend, and being an advocate of the dangers of nationalism.

Yup ,worded it perfectly we can be prideful but we can also respect ALL dead warriors by being honest and true to ourselves.

And the pledge is the Lord's prayer.

@Orson D'Orange New boss is just like the old boss; nothing really changes.

It's really similar to Colombia in Bioshock Infinite

"Why would you say something so controversial, yet so true?"

The REPUBLICAN presidents are the pope

I prefer the REAL Confederate flag: a plain white banner.

@@blaidencortel thank you as a southerner myself I never understood my region keeps trying to glorify a horrific time of our past the Confederates were traitors plain and simple

It's not even the real flag it's the naval banner. The confederacy literally had like two ships. I'm not sure how two sailboats that existed for a year or two can be a major part of a culture

I am a firm believer that the people who get their "history lessons" from these kinds of statues instead of books, is a big part of why we have the problems we do in this country. That and the fact that there are other people who wanted those people to think and feel the way they do about those statues and have gotten their way.

@@brandonhann1508 The same type of hate is rising again. It's not exclusively "the south" but "the right" this time.

It's a perfectly cromulent video

I prefer to wallow in my own crappulence

Right after Doctrine of Discovery

Because the truth is frightening and most people can't handle the truth, to coin a phrase.

For real, Plato's "good lie" was a widely accepted concept by the founding fathers which is why we have a plutocratic republic and not an actual democracy because they never trusted "the people" or their actual ability to self determine their communities, and why we have a giant american history propaganda machine, it's disgusting honestly

If you're a British historian looking to tear down mythologised countries, you could find one closer than Spain.

"Sure they got raped and scarred for life, but they were brats anyway if they didn't like daddy America." Hm, yes.

America role in ww2 is already owerblown. .

This reminds me of a time when I watched "Saving Private Ryan" with my uncle. I saw him physically recoil in one of the early scenes when American GI's execute a German on the spot and then proceed to pick his pockets. He took issue with it, and legit thought it was communist propaganda or something. The severe lack of critical thinking in this damn country is just so infuriating.

Does time corrupt all?

@@jimmyc42x Interesting question. Is there truth in the Dark Knight quote "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"?

I used to believe in the myth of Canadian people being courteous to a fault until I heard about them forcibly sterilizing indigenous women.

Canadian here! Yup, it's true. Also systemic racism, xenophobia and police brutality are rampant here.

@@wombatkidd We know. That is literally the point.

Best comment!

To be fair, it is much more like that than before. You can argue that it's not genuine in its approach but it is trying much harder to draw in the left side than previous years. Snark or not, it's quite obvious to observe.

That happened? Holy crap

The US government supported Franco after the war, can't say I'm surprised. After 1945, the US sides with fascism against any sort of revolution, every time. We should remember that

My friend, get your facts right please. El valle de los caídos is not a cenotaph. It was built by the victima of Franco, republican prisoners after the civil war. Republicans buried in the same place as the people who murdrered them and the dictator. That's not a cenotaph, thats not respect, that's a twisted mock at all who fought and died for the Republic. Lately they removed Franco from there and buried him in his family tomb... while republicans are still buried and unidentified who knows where because our Transition was a joke done by the same people whose bloody hands made Spain get stuck in time.

@@dairallan Please, even if the Spanish state acted rather authoritatively in many occasions, saying (it) operates as a fascist state is flippant at the very least. The current government is centre left (european style, which puts them there with the most progressive US democrats) and the police won't kick down your door if you're queer or communist. Access to healthcare is guaranteed and reasonably effective for the vast majority of the population. Comparing the current situation to Franco's Spain is ignoring the hard work of several generations of revolutionaries and progressives, even as today, actual fascists try to set it all back. So please, have a little respect and remember that there's actual fascists out there. All of this I say without any malice and with utmost respect, my intention is to provide a firsthand account of the situation.

I thought America didn't support Spain under Franco? Wasn't that the whole reason Spain didn't get aid from Marshall Plan while Portugal did, despite being under Salazar?

I mean, I adore _Hamilton_ and all, but if someone buys into American Exceptionalism and the lionizing of the Founding Fathers, there's not a lot in the material that would challenge that.

K.M. Connor I mean it mentions Jefferson owning slaves but it drastically downplays Washington’s slave owning and a lot of Hamilton’s flaws are glossed over

Guys, I think Jeeves' joke was that if the Founding Fathers saw themselves being played by BIPOC actors in a rap musical, they would either challenge the entire cast plus LMM to duels or just die of rage aneurysms on the spot.

As a daughter of a veteran I agree. My father didnt even want to fight in a war. He probably would have been a track start. Ridiculous.

I still see it as a good episode. You may not entirely agree with its conclusion but it's still both entertaining and thought provoking.

The Simpsons has been a pretty conservative show for most of the time.

@@josan14basket Lincoln ordered the largest ever mass execution of indigenous people in US history. I for one dislike him. Did you miss the point of the video, on say, mythologising american historical figures away from fact and into heroic fiction. He worked to serve settler colonialism and the interests of the ruling class just like every other president has and will.

Does she have historical evidence of that slave she was?

@@edwardfontaine7108 well, yeah which is why the 'Great Man' theory of history that focuses on famed individuals over movements and societal norms is inherently reactionary

@@edwardfontaine7108 He's only great because you choose to hold onto the notion that he is. There are many other great abolitionists in American history but Lincoln is so upheld because he gives legitimacy to the state and change from within. John Brown is a favourite of mine.

Your mother sounds like the Ultimate Karen

Get the pitchforks ! The time when I first learned of this was in college, never as I recall from my grammar or high school years.

I was blown away when I learned that the Soviet Union was the frontal assault into the invasion of Poland while Nazi Germany was the vanguard. Growing up, I never heard that in school and it blew my mind to learn that Starlin and Hitler not only had a non-aggression pact but were military allies as well in college.

@@wdcain1 I'm surprised, I learnt that in secondary school. Interesting.

WDCain no, they werent ever allied, that is a myth. they only had the nap to bide time until either invaded the other.

Botchamania JEEZUS They were co-belligerents.

I loved this episode, but hated the ending so much

@@AeromaticXD I'm glad I hated the ending as a kid, it felt like a cop out.

hello, I'm a fellow Hispanic and also an American.

Monuments are rarely about educating citizens about deeper meaning of culture and history and more about bringing in tourist income for the respective city.

The water technology is great but were you also trying to make a point about the gladiator fights? Those weren't such a great thing in and of themselves. Not something to be proud of.

I'm about 30 miles outside D.C., and the prevailing attitude I've encountered is one of apathy. Not even my relatively conservative family will defend Columbus the man, but they will also turn a blind eye to the legacies that colonialism has left in the modern world. They seem to think that this attitude makes them non-radical, and therefore the Smarterest Ever™, even though it really just amounts to excusing yourself from the conflict.

I live in AZ and the "patriotism" is strong in people. You can basically fit them in the same lot with the turbo Christians.

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/asp-ZMho0a3JloU.html

"Lies My Teacher Told Me" American history in general I think not just Washington

Canada is just as bad.

Mattteus Well Eric Andre gonna be happy about that.

Not all of us 'boomers' subscribe to the myth.

Yes, I announced it on social media and on a KZfaq post in January: twitter.com/renegadecut/status/1214316023459041280

@@renegadecut9875 thanks! I'm very excited for that!