Do these stories have red, white, and blue written in them?
USA TODAY reporters follow America’s iconic journey as it celebrates its 250th anniversary. What we find there says a lot about who we are today.
Renowned documentarian Ken Burns said in a recent interview that while the tendency to gloss over the bloody realities of American history exacerbates current perceived divisions, these echoes of the past paint a more holistic and honest picture of the country’s present and future.
Burns made the comments during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker on July 5 to discuss his documentary about the American Revolution.
Here’s what you need to know about how historical filmmakers view our present and what they hope for America’s future.
Burning with the bloody realities of America’s past and deep divisions
According to Burns, history books and our collective memory tend to “sanitize” the American Revolution.
“I think it was out of a legitimate fear that if we somehow revealed how dark and bloody it was, that big idea would somehow languish in Philadelphia in ’76 and 11 years later in ’87 when the Constitution was enacted,” Burns told Welker. “Not so. The improbability of the struggle, the improbability of success, makes these ideas all the more impressive.”
Burns said the continent-wide pandemic, the debate over vaccinating soldiers and the failed invasion of Canada during the founding of the United States all “rhymes” with the current situation. But taken together, our current divisions pale in comparison to the historical record.
“We’re really divided,” Burns said. “But it was more divided then, it was more divided during the Civil War, it was even more divided during Vietnam.”
He described today’s divide as “a mile wide but an inch thick,” adding: “We need good stories to remind people of what we share.”
Authoritarianism and the Founders
Burns argued that the founders would be “deeply disappointed” by what some see as the country’s growing authoritarian tendencies, but perhaps not surprised by it.
“Once the founders got here, I don’t think they would be surprised at all if someone wanted more authoritarian power,” Burns said. “They’re going to be very disappointed that the Legislature, Article I, has given up so much power because they thought it was going to be a bulwark against the inevitable.”
Burns also argued that much of America’s current unhappiness and division is due to “those who keep us alive by putting up with our grievances.”
“It is in the interests of authoritarians to keep people uneducated and misled by conspiracies and superstitions,” he said.
Burns said the “recipe” for a healthy, functioning and relatively peaceful democracy exists, but the public is “preoccupied with superstition and intrigue and the shiny subject of us versus them.”
The power of “citizens”
According to Burns, prior to the founding of the United States, the concept of “nation” as we know it today did not exist. Rather, society was divided into rulers and subjects. The country’s founding therefore had a “biblical” overtone, imbued with the concept that all people are created equal and masters of their own destiny.
He quoted Thomas Paine in his book Common Sense, which argued that “since the days of Noah, there has been no opportunity to remake the world.”
“So there is a Biblical implication for our destiny for humanity to reset and create a place where we can say, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.’” They are not self-evident. They have never been tried. But this is what we will try to do,” Burns said.
Burns described the role of citizen as “the highest office in the land,” a deliberate choice carved out by the founders to reduce the power of authoritarians and those who choose violence.
“We have a system here that at least has a recipe for pulling out the fuel rods of anger, mistrust, and hatred,” Burns said. “As we approach this glorious moment of 250 years of the oldest democracy on earth, I ask the American people: ‘Do you want to continue cooking with that recipe, or would you rather have everything ordered, as authoritarians always do, or can we convince you that our story is about one people and not others?'”
A chance to reconcile divisions
Ultimately, Burns said, America’s story is one of “an incredibly diverse people coming together” and that collectively we have the power to choose unity over violence.
“We have a chance to kind of reconcile this, and why not choose the path of reconciliation instead of perhaps more discord and unnecessary drama of dissipation and violence? And just you, we don’t have to choose that,” Burns said.
Drew Pittock covers trending news from around the country for USA TODAY. He can be reached at DPittock@usatodayco.com.
