Why does our nation of nearly 100 Million so easily forget the past? Why is martial law no longer remembered? Why do we have a weak sense of history as a people?
Perhaps because history as we know it is written by the elite and the 'educated' and as such reflects the point of view of the elite and the 'educated' and does not reflect the point of view of the common folk such as the farmers, the fisherfolk, the taxi drivers, the cocheros and welders all of whom comprise 90 percent of the population. History as it is written excludes and alienates the vast majority. It cannot be called their history.
Until we extoll the virtues of Juan the farmer, Jose the fisherman, Pablo the taxi driver and Maria the cigarette vendor and show how they struggled and triumphed during these difficult upheavals in our nation's history, only then will history become relevant, meaningful and most importantly remembered by our nation and our people collectively.
We must rewrite history so that we, as a people, gain a real sense of history.