Why is North America's history of fascism so often erased in historical education

February 9, 2023
tags: #idea #memex-2

Question

With little investigation it's easy to see all the ways North America has directly engaged in fascism, collaborated with fascism, and innovated new ways to be horribly fascist. As such, many North American historical figures have legacies stained with fascistic ideology. Yet, none of these aspects are ever mentioned unless the class is dealing directly with the topic of fascism. Why is this important topic treated as irrelevant? How does this contribute to fascism's insidious spread (especially on the internet) in the present day?

Relevant Ideas

  • Dewey was a well-known racist and anti-semite even for his time, and faced several accusations of sexual harassment. This was reflected in how he used his power, as discussed above. However, there were no mentions of this history in class.

  • I've learned about Bell countless times throughout my Canadian education, yet his ableism had never been mentioned to me as a neurodivergent student.