[astrange]

> It's not random that whoever writes the history books for students has the power, and whoever has the power writes the history books.

There is actually not any reason to believe either of these things.

It's very similar to how many people claim everything they don't like in politics comes from "corporations" and you need to "follow the money" and then all of their specific predictions are wrong.

In both cases, political battles are mainly won by insane people willing to spend lots of free time on them, not by whoever has "power" or money.

[Cthulhu_]

"insane" is too quickly a dismissal to be honest, it's a lazy shortcut. Few people are actually insane, but it takes effort to fully understand where they're coming from. And often, when you look into it, it's not so much a difference of opinion or understanding, but a difference in morals.

[bear141]

How exactly do you think these insane people are able to spend that much time and also have enough of an audience to sway anything?

[astrange]

Mostly by being retired. Boomers with 401ks are not generally what people mean by "power and money".

[EbEsacAig]

I think you've actually confirmed my point. We can replace "history books" with "facebook" or "evening news". Those who control mass media are in power, and those in power strive to control mass media. It's exactly those "insane people" (winning political battles) that are the primary target of influence via mass media.