"What I'm going to tell you now ... may sound incredible. But then, when you're not accustomed to history, most facts about the past do sound incredible."
Though the "DHC" was not so concerned about doing better history, his remark is nevertheless quite accurate. When history is described in precise terms, it can sound strange. It can seem melodramatic, conspiratorial, sensational. Through reinforcement, we grow up accepting distorted versions of certain historical events. The vocabulary used to discuss, for example, the Vietnam War, rewrites that conflict. Repetition of the vocabulary fixes the meanings in place - not so different from the sleep-indoctrination, or hypnopaedia, in Huxley's novel. Describing the wars in Vietnam or Iraq as "mistakes" turns the story upside-down. When the narrative is corrected and returned right-side up, naturally, it doesn't sound right.
Two articles in the Foreign Policy journal (free registration required), examining the recent passing and career of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, provide a side-by-side exhibit of why recounting history in precise terms can commonly lead to doubt and skepticism.
One piece is by Aaron David Miller, a longtime former State Department adviser, participant in the peace process, and current think-tank analyst. The other is by noted historian Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University.
Short and easy to read, their articles are representative of the work each has done throughout his career: Khalidi's piece is historically correct, just, and unvarnished; Miller's is a well-written public relations communique. Khalidi's is to-the-point, unsettling, and speaks of war crimes. Miller's is soothing, charming, and occasionally frank in small doses.
Recalling the DHC's observation, Khalidi's approach sounds incredible because Miller's approach is the history to which we've become accustomed.
Miller
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/01/11/warrior_farmer_leader_ariel_sharon
Khalidi
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/01/13/call_off_the_sainthood_of_ariel_sharon
