Following the horrific shootings in El Paso and Dayton, President Trump spoke to the nation. Millions watched as he expressed his condolences to the victims and his condemnation of the beliefs that led to the attack. The response to his speech largely depended on where you are on the political spectrum. That’s why it was so surprising when the New York Times, no great fan of the president, released on social media a preview of the next day’s headline: “Trump Urges Unity Vs. Racism.” While those on the right wondered if the Times had turned over a new leaf, many on the left were ready to storm the newspaper’s offices. Thousands of “How could you?” tweets and Facebook posts flooded the internet. After reading all the vitriol, the editorial staff of the Times seemed to awaken from their momentary nonpartisan stupor and quickly rewrote the headline to say, “Assailing Hate Not Guns.”[1] The left cheered the newspaper’s return to sanity, and the right just shook their heads in unsurprised amazement.

Whatever your view of the president, it’s difficult not to see a bias here—a molding of the facts in order to fit a narrative. As I watched these events, I was reminded of the book 1984, which saw Winston Smith changing past issues of the Times to align with his current government’s historical “truth.” Why was it so important to change the story of the past? As Orwell wrote, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”[2] In other words, being in power allows you to change history so that it will justify all the schemes you have planned for the future.

This story of the changed headlines also reminded me of a few years ago, when Egypt changed the way history is told. A textbook for ninth grade students was rewritten. However, rather than changing truth into a lie, this change turned a lie of omission into the truth of inclusion. Never before had the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel been taught in Egyptian schools.[3] This treaty—signed by Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, earning them both the Nobel Peace Prize—normalized relations between the two nations and made Egypt the first Arab country to recognize the State of Israel. It was this treaty that cost Sadat his life two and a half years later, when he was assassinated by militants during a parade in Cairo. What once was hidden from the eyes of children because of hatred or shame is now part of the regular curriculum that every student will learn.

This is a wonderful step by the Egyptian Education Ministry toward bringing real, lasting peace, not just between the governments of Egypt and Israel, but between their people. There is a quote attributed to Vladimir Lenin—“Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”[4] As frightening as that quote is in the context of Communism, it is just as dangerous in any ideology of hate. But when children are taught truth and peace from an early age, there is a much better chance they will grow up to become a generation of truth and peace. My congratulations and gratitude to Egypt for making this important change. I am confident that it will reap rewards in the future.

-Joel

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[1] Chiu, Allyson. “Trump Lashes out after New York Times Amends ‘Bad’ Headline about His Response to Mass Shootings.” The Washington Post, 7 Aug. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/06/new-york-times-headline-trump-backlash/.

[2] Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four: a Novel. Signet, 2003.

[3] “In a First, New Egyptian Schoolbook Teaches Peace Deal with Israel.” The Times of Israel, 17 Feb. 2016, www.timesofisrael.com/in-a-first-new-egyptian-schoolbook-teaches-peace-deal-with-israel/.

[4] BrainyQuote, Xplore, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/vladimir_lenin_153238.