Whoa, Canada: Mangling History in Battle Re-enactments, Plus a Rant

Mark Steyn's new column explores how some folks in the Great White North are re-writing history in the name of political correctness. (The Brits, incidentally, weren't much better not too long ago when they re-enacted the Battle of Trafalgar not as the historically accurate England versus France-and-Spain, but as Team Red and Team Blue in order not to offend the modern French and Spanish -- a ludicrous event that Steyn also rehashes. Poor Nelson! He fought and fell heroically in battle not for this blessed plot, this realm, this earth, this England, but for the Red Team! I do love me some Napoleonic-era naval battles, and this just made me crazy.)

The entire idea of altering re-enactments of historical events is not only ridiculous, but perilously stupid: it's the willful repudiation of facts in favor of embracing fantasy. It's all wishful thinking writ large. "Oh, I hate the fact that [insert actual winners here] defeated our ancestors, so when we re-enact the battle, let's make our ancestors win instead because that makes us feel better about ourselves here in 2009!"

Facts are facts. And they are even more under siege on all front by people crying that facts are hurtful or uncomfortable or divisive or whatever. (I almost feel like Rorschach from "Watchmen" -- no compromise when it comes to the truth, no faking reality no matter what the reason, even if it's cloaked in "the greater good," itself a iffy phrase.)

It's time (and past time) to learn to deal with facts, history, and objective reality. Far too many people now are projecting their modern issues onto the past -- and therefore twisting history almost beyond recognition. The study (and responsible teaching) of history has enough difficulties and uncertainties in it without meddlesome people actively trying to mangle it for their own purposes. Trust me on this.

I need a palate cleanser after that Steyn story! How about this: Say what you want about the American South, but when people re-enact Civil War battles, they never change the actual historical outcomes -- even if southerners are re-creating a catastrophic Southern defeat. Ever been to a re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg? You absolutely should go sometime. It's amazing. Every year the Confederates fight and lose, just as they did in those 3 days in 1863. History buffs flock out there annually to re-create the defeat that ended Lee's invasion of the North and put the South on the defensive for the rest of the conflict.

I'll tell you something else, too: Civil War history buffs are FANATICAL about accuracy in even the smallest detail. (These are people who memorize the serial numbers of different pieces of 19th-century ordnance.) The mere thought of changing any historical detail, much less the outcome of the battle, would be anathema, even if ultimately that history has winners and losers. (I wonder, though, is it only a matter of time before the PC crowd tries to interfere even here?)

OK, end of rant. Need to go run errands!