What place controversy?

In a recent post, DearMyrtle asked the question "Being Politically Correct: What should we do as historians?"I think this question falls into the category of the inclusion ofcontroversial information into our genealogies. Should we "edit" historyto take out all the undesirable and difficult subjects? What about thecriminals, the illegitimate children and the poor and psychologicallyafflicted? Do we hide the fact that our great-grandmother spent most ofher life in an insane asylum or do we let it all hang out and talk aboutall the family secrets?

Personally the questions are easy to answer. I believe the dead have nosecrets. Anything that happened in the past is fair game.Notwithstanding this position, we need to be sensitive to the feelingsof the living but we do not want to keep fighting the Civil War. As forrecording the language of the past, that was the reality then, who arewe afraid of offending?

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What place controversy?

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