I've always been fascinated by World War II. The causes, happenings and results of the war, while tragic are fascinating. One thing that I enjoy looking at more than anything is propaganda, from all factions that participated in the war. I've written about my need to assign things I hear to either argument or propaganda. I've discovered that most things that we hear from the media, from television, from the radio and in our newspapers is just that, propaganda mostly because they fail to represent the views of the other side. Perhaps today we would be more likely to use the term 'bias', but the effects are the same, one view point is touted frequently as the only view point.
I think that most people fail to recognize propaganda when they agree with the sentiment that is being expressed. Or have verified that something in the propaganda is true, therefore it must all be true.
"That's Not What They Meant" explores the claim of America's right wing, most notably Tea Party Conservatives that if America's Founders were alive today, they would be Tea Party Conservatives. And that moderates and liberals are trying to destroy the country. (That's not to say that liberals don't create propaganda, they do, but that isn't the scope of this book.)
The truth is that the Founding Fathers, just like us were deeply divided on the issues of their day. Many wanted to remain under the Articles of Confederation, some were for a national bank, others vehemently opposed to it. They argued constantly about the Constitutionality of everything. Just like we do now.
Austin does a good job of showing the variation of opinions of many of the "Founding Fathers", such as Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton. He picks apart "proof texting" and helps the reader to understand how and why these texts are used by propagandists. He discusses Hamilton and Jefferson's rocky relationship and shows the differences in their opinions, a phenomenon that in my experience has been ignored by much of the American Far Right.
I don't think that I could say it any better than Austin did:
America has not yet seen its best days. The Founding Fathers did their job well, and the system they created remains as robust an engine for liberty and human progress as the world has ever seen. The American Right is doing its part to create the contention and conflict that make our democracy function. Liberals, centrists and moderate conservatives need to step up to the plate and take their turns, to subject the Right's arguments and historical narratives to rigorous analysis and meaningful rebuttal. In the process, we must wrest the narrative of the Founding Fathers away from narrow ideologues of any persuasion and restore them to their rightful place as the common heritage of all Americans.This book contains a much better statement of a lot of things that I've thought over the past decade or so than I've been able to articulate. I think the biggest problem that America faces is that the conversation that is essential to democracy is breaking down. We need to re-engage as Austin says and have real, meaningful conversations about where we think this country needs to go, because only then are things going to really get done.
