History, Plagued by Time

(This entry is the winning piece during the MSU Law Week 2021 - Essay Writing Competition)

History is often a topic filled with larger-than-life tales that chronicle the great deeds of men and women. These deeds fundamentally affected the formation of our society. Whether it be the victorious campaign of Alexander the Great, or the defeat of Nazi Germany in the 2nd World War, we read about these deeds as if they brought about the very essence of what the practice of law is about – the administration of justice.

Be it a triumphant offensive assault, or a successful defense of one’s homeland, justice was said to be brought by its victors. However, in reality, it is often the champions who had the means and machinery to chronicle the events that happened during those times. This is the very reason why the notion History is written by the Victors rose in popularity. Despite this being the norm in the past, the fact of the matter is that this notion generally applies to matters of conquest within history. In other words, it is relevant only to how history describes the outcome of a bloody conflict – i.e. War. War at that scale, however is a thing of the past. Democratic institutions have taken over the world.

In today’s society, we are one of the strongest democracies in South East Asia. Bereft from the rule and influence of a monarch, nor the looming fascistic rule of the military, we are one of the freest democracies indeed. And in a State that is considered to be free, the victors are not determined by who emerges victorious in an armed conflict. It is the People who decide such.

Time brings progress with it. Our society has modernized to the point where history has become an essential institution in democracy. Victors no longer write history. Historians chronicle significant events in our history and as such, prevent the control of a major power to dictate the narrative of our nation. Anything to the contrary betrays the ideals of democracy and we eventually cease to become one.

Still present, however, are various versions of history that are propounded alongside the major historical narrative that is subscribed to by many. The presence of such alternate versions of history is dangerous for a modern democratic state. One of the dangers is when one of these narratives are propounded with the intent to blur a certain point in history and place a focus on
one single point in time. Similar to a magician’s sleight of hand, there is misdirection. Such is the nature of historical revisionism.

Resembling the view wherein history is written by the victors, historical revisionism is intended to serve a certain political interest. For instance, the case of the Marcos Revisionism.

From December 30, 1965 until February 25, 1986, former President Marcos lorded over the Philippines as its President under the guise of a democratic nation. Despite naming it as such, this period in
Philippine history has been regarded by local and foreign historians alike as one of the country’s dark ages.

Rampant corruption and human rights violations occurred during this period. Several members of the Marcos family are still facing criminal and civil cases, here and abroad. And yet, groups claim that the version taught to us by history is false and is mere propaganda in an attempt to vilify the Marcos name.

This attempt in revising the history of our country at that point in time is all for the purpose of regaining the lost political power of the Marcos family.

In a democratic state, although historical revisionism is not as lethal as those in autocratic states, it is no less damaging. Essentially, since history is a construct, the effect of historical revisionism depends on the education, beliefs, cultural norms, and prejudices of the population at large. This implies that a democracy is only as good as its educational system. Aristotle said it best when he likened democracy to a rule of the mob. Freedom of the people is irrelevant if education is not up to par with it. Such rule of the mob will eventually end up to be similar to the rampant cancel culture of today.

To be immune from historical revisionism and to view history from an entirely objective standpoint entails education and awareness of one’s prejudices. Take the case of Germany. The 2nd World War was primarily caused by Hitler’s desire for power and the eradication of the Jewish people. After their defeat, Germany intended to distance herself entirely from that narrative and began educating her people, especially her youth.

This self-awareness is what equipped Germany the ability to repel any attempts of revising the narrative and to keep Nazism as an obscure and repulsive belief.
Education alone is insufficient, and awareness of one’s prejudices should always be emphasized. Lack of such sways the hearts of even the most educated people.

From a myopic context, this is manifested as to how educated individuals are in full support of this alternative and interest-driven narrative. This is a form of confirmation bias since this alternative historical narrative supports their preconceived notions and biases. Be it from the environment in which one develops, or a reflection of their character and value system, these are definite pitfalls and can lead to disastrous effects.

In summary, the notions that History is written by the Victors and Historical Revisionism are both plagues of modern democracy. The philosopher Karl Popper speaks of the paradox of tolerance. A tolerant society must never tolerate intolerable acts. Doing so would lead to the destruction of the tolerant society and those who themselves are tolerant.

In our context, by consuming and sharing disinformation, we end up tolerating intolerance. In order to preserve our societal peace and prevent any further disparity caused by differing political opinions, there is a need for proper education from appropriate, fact-based sources. Considering this, if one learns his history from unverified videos on the internet, then that act is contributory to the erosion, and eventual fall of Philippine democracy.

Edited by: Chloebelle Guinto, EIC

Narrated by: Joseph Bernard R. Ariel

Produced by: The Advocati