I'm Sorry, Do You Pronounce That Tomato, Or Tomato?

I am going to be busy the rest of this week so posting will be sparse. I missed the History Capstone last year, and it is only offered once every spring. I need this class to obtain my pieces of paper that will tell the world I have achieved the status of minor league Historian and Sociologist.

Correction. There are either going to be very few posts, or lots and lots of them in which I am a very opinionated pompous ass.

The discussion part of this course surrounds the issues of History itself. I don't know how many of you have taken History courses, but it is very common to have completely opposing views on the same subject, sometimes using the same details for your personal argument. I personally like to think of History as gossiping about the past.

Nonetheless, it can become confusing if you aren't taught to analyze the data and come to your own conclusion; often making it even more confusing for someone else.

One of the questions posed is this:

Should Historians analyze the past or simply commemorate it? Should they be held accountable to "patriotically correct" interests?

I'm not cheating by asking you what I'm about to ask. I already have my own very strong opinions on this subject, which I will nervously stammer proudly to the class on Saturday.

I want to know what you all think about this.