Real History: Parts 1 and 2
Real History is a series of presentations by Michael Parenti on important and controversial topics, many of which have been shrouded in myth. Take the much venerated Founding Fathers. They were slave owners and wealthy men who wanted a system that favored their interests with democracy for the few. Or another example is how the West up until the very late 1930s was in favor of Hitler as it saw him as a bulwark against communism. Knowledge of history is critical, Professor Parenti says, because those who dominate our vision of the past exercise preeminent control over how we view the present and the future.
This set is Michael Parenti at his cogent and incisive best. Very much worth getting.
CD1: The Myths of the Founding Fathers; The Spanish-American War & the Rise of U.S. Imperialism
CD2: The Functions of Fascism; The Origins of World War II
Speaker
Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti was a leading independent political analyst, scholar, and author. Cornel West called him “a towering prophetic voice.” He taught at major colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of numerous books, including Democracy for the Few, Power and the Powerless, and Against Empire. He passed away on January 24, 2026, at the age of 92.
Questioning the Unquestionable
“It is not demanded of readers that they embrace my views, but that they reflect upon their own. How seldom we bother to explore in some critical fashion the fundamental preconceptions that shape our understanding of social and political life. How frequently, as if by reflex rather than reflection, we respond to certain cues and incantations, resisting any incongruous notion. Our opinions shelter and support us; it is an excruciating effort to submit them to reappraisal. Yet if we are to maintain some pretense at being rational creatures, we must risk the discomfiture that comes with questioning the unquestionable, and try to transcend our tendencies toward mental confinement.” – Michael Parenti
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