The Power of Writing
I was asked a few interview questions by the local newspaper this past week in my capacity as an English teacher. One of the questions kind of stuck with me. It centered on the idea of when people study of culture they generally look to the social sciences. Did I believe that was an accurate measure or was literature a clearer look? Well, I got to hop up onto my soapbox for a while. It's an interesting question, isn't it? The literature snob in me, of course has an opinion. A strong one, which I'm sure surprises no one who actually knows me well. We need to remember that history is written by the victors. Generally written by the victors after some judicious pruning. Think about the treatment of World War II in American history books. It's the Greatest Generation--the generation that buckled down, planted victory gardens and won the war over in Europe when France and Britain couldn't go it alone. Those entries completely downplay the fact that the US shrugged it&#