"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them."
- George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism
When you are on the wrong side of history, you write laws like House Bill 1315 that puts a strangle-hold on college curriculum; demanding that all history be taught "value neutral."
When you exist as an apologist for the largest blood-baths of the past 500 years, you tend to want a law like HB 1315 that forces a whitewash over the facts, something "Nationalists" find disturbing.
HB 1315, also known as the David Horowitz legislation, seeks to impose a self-defined "value neutral" curriculum as law in Colorado.
But the question arises; how can one be neutral about slavery, or a lynching, or the killing of 3,000 civilians in a skyscraper, or the massacre of peasants in El Salvador?
For David Horowitz and his lackeys pushing his law at the State Capital, history must be muzzled, controlled, and whitewashed lest students think the wrong thoughts and perhaps become "patriotically incorrect."
If you still believe in the "Myth of Columbus," and that the curriculum on college universities must teach that he was a great man, a brave man, a superb explorer and saintly man of God, then HB 1315 is for you.
The Horowitz legislation would, in effect, bury once and for all any debate or discussion over the genocide that occurred following the so-called "discovery" of America. To teach that Columbus was a butcher, liar, thief and - above all - a murderer, would be grounds for dismissal if the Horowitz legislation makes its way through the State Legislature.
HB 1315 is for the "Nationalist" as described by Orwell. For those who wish to shove the deaths of 800,000 Indonesians down the Orwellian memory hole due to the embarrassing fact that the U.S. government supported, armed, and funded the brutal Suharto regime as it carried out the blood bath in Indonesia, this bill is for you.
How about East Timor? Can you lead a "value neutral" discussion of U.S. support for an invasion and occupation that left 250,000 East Timorese dead?
Running down the list of South American countries will surely get you fired when Horowitz gets his law. In Argentina, U.S. support of that so-called "dirty war" led to 30,000 civilians being killed or ultimately listed as "disappeared." In El Salvador, U.S. support of death squad governments cost the lives of over 75,000 peasants.
How about Ronald Reagan's contras in Nicaragua? These so called "freedom fighters" slaughtered 30,000 in that war against "soft targets."
The CIA helped overthrow the democratically elected president in Chile. They installed Pinochet, who was arguably one of the most brutal dictators the planet has ever known. What, Mr. Horowitz, is the benefit of leading "value neutral" discussions on any of these atrocities?
When you are on the wrong side of history, when you are an apologist for every massacre or atrocity committed in the name of God and country, when you support "value neutral" teachings mandated by law, like those who support HB 1315; then you become just another Nationalist like Horowitz who wants to make sure that history, truth, and justice are white-washed forever.
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