Presentism

About a month ago, my partner showed me this article. Written by historian James Sweet, it is terrific, and the only thing I could possibly criticize the author for is his after-the-fact apology for what he had written (it appears at the link, prior to the main article). Why on earth did he grovel like that? He wrote nothing wrong and indeed, he was quite sensitive and considerate in his writing. (Of note: Sweet links to a 2002 piece along the same lines, published before we all went mad and utterly gutless.) A propos, Bill Maher’s rant from his show last week. I wish he were not so vulgar – he could make his point without any of that, but still, I admire his moxie here. He is strong on Israel, animal welfare and free speech. And now, it seems, on ahistorical nonsense.