Corrected or revised
Watching or reading the news is an activity that is fraught with risk. One must tread through the virtual minefield of politically correct sentiment, even as the powers that be change the rules. In fact, there are no facts; all can be revised given enough time and desire. Today, there were two examples, similar in their difference.
The first, more public story dealt with a court decision. A lifetime ago, a young boy in Ontario was charged with murder. Given the flimsy evidence, in this CSI world a conviction should have been impossible, but “back then” when the world was portrayed in black and white images, Steven Truscott did not convince the court. He went to jail and then disappeared from public view. His story lived on, because there was more than a shadow of a doubt.
This story even served as content in school readers, reminding us all to be wary of our actions when the witnesses were absent. A moral story for youth. There but for the blind eyes of justice might be you. Today, an appeal court stopped far short of any apology but did declare that he should be acquitted. Having been sentenced to death, he may continue to thank his lucky stars. An obvious miscarriage of justice as we believe it to be. An obvious example of how fragile our rights really are.
Let’s switch to the other story. In an ongoing feud between the Canadian War Museum and a group of aging military air crews, the museum is under charge to change the tone of one exhibit. In a demand for revisionism, the sombre “defense” used by their sworn enemy has surfaced. “We were only following orders”.
The acts of soldiers in war are rarely nice. For these men to now demand that the story be told in a pastel pink version which masks any bloodstaining is wrong. Revising history doesn’t change anything.
