Historians' Open Letter to ABC

[kskiska]

A group of leading American historians today sent the following letter to Mr. Robert Iger of ABC. Stressing the significance of the "traumatic" events of 9/11, the signers of this letter are calling on Mr. Iger to stand up for responsible media treatments of such important historical moments and withdraw the program from circulation. The growing list of signatories will be updated at openlettertoabc.blogspot.com.

The text of the letter follows.

Dear Robert Iger:

We write as professional historians, who are deeply concerned by the continuing reports about ABC's scheduled broadcast of "The Path to 9/11." These reports document that this drama contains numerous flagrant falsehoods about critical events in recent American history. The key participants and eyewitnesses to these events state that the script distorts and even fabricates evidence into order to mislead viewers about the responsibility of numerous American officials for allegedly ignoring the terrorist threat before 2000.

The claim by the show's producers, broadcaster, and defenders, that these falsehoods are permissible because the show is merely a dramatization, is disingenuous and dangerous given their assertions that the show is also based on authoritative historical evidence. Whatever ABC's motivations might be, broadcasting these falsehoods, connected to the most traumatic historical event of our times, would be a gross disservice to the public. A responsible broadcast network should have nothing to do with the falsification of history, except to expose it. We strongly urge you to halt the show's broadcast and prevent misinforming Americans about their history.

Sincerely,

Arthur Schlesinger
Sean Wilentz, Princeton University
Michael Kazin, Georgetown University
Lizbeth Cohen, Harvard University,
Nicholas Salvatore, Cornell University;
Ted Widmer, Brown University;
Rick Perlstein, Independent Scholar;
David Blight, Yale University;
Eric Alterman, City University of New York.
Maurice Isserman, Hamilton College
(List in formation)

more…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20060908/cm_huffpost/028996

[fooj]

1. Truth is our most powerful weapon.

[babylonsister]

2. Douglas Brinkley, Doris Kearns Goodwin-hmmm.

The more the merrier.

[me b zola]

7. I would hate to think....

I would hate to think that Doris Kearns Goodwin & Douglas Brinkley have put their book sales before professional obligation.

[Bozita]

3. That makes me feel a lot better ... but I'm still major-league PISSED

Bigtime!

[Erika]

4. Will Historians or Bushbots win out? n/t

[Bucky]

5. As purveyors of truth & understanding, historians are clearly anti-Bush

How can we trust these so-called historians if they're willing to aid and comfort our enemies by making a fetish out of reality and elevating it like some false idol over their own country's interests. When the terrorists read this letter, they'll be emboldened to probably launch their nukes and WDMs at America. Using illegal aliens and the ACLU, probably. I'm series!!1!

[truedelphi]

9. If the truth is aiding and abetting our enemies

Then we must not be on the side of goodness and light

If disowning an illegal war is not supporting our troops, I do not know what would be.

If the Christian right has any sense of right and wrong I will eat my computer screen!
Unlike the God of the American Catholic Bishops, and the God of Christians world wide the God of the Christian right wing is diabloic and is probably either Stan or Satan's more eveil twin (The one who pretends to be godly)

[Kurovski]

6. K&R.(nt)

[Red Right and BLUE]

8. Right on.

K&R

[no_hypocrisy]

10. They make all valid points.

Suppose a "dramatization" of the Lucitania whereby Woodrow Wilson had multiple cables about it being a target for the German submarine and responded, "Splendid! They're giving me my war! And with such little investment too!" or FDR getting happy and excited about Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, or better, cabling Churchill with a message of "You were right. They never saw it coming!"

C'mon! This 9-11 has one purpose only: to defame Clinton by building a story around that purpose. Otherwise, it would be easy to edit and neuter the effect without destroying the story.