In September 2017, President Donald Trump issued a travel ban on Muslim nationals entering the United States from Libya, Iran, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen. Citizens from North Korea and certain government officials from Venezuela were also banned. This is a perfect reminder of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s move to sign an executive order intended to evacuate all the Japanese Americans living in the West Coast. The bombing of the Pearl Harbor by the Japanese military triggered the signing of the executive order by President Roosevelt. The retaliation move that happened in 1945 mirrors the recent action by President Trump who is convinced that most terrorists practice Islam. Islamic Americans have continuously led campaigns against Islamophobia, but the President’s recent move could awaken the deep resentment that several Americans have towards Muslims.
Presentism is the use of modern values to interpret past events. One strategy that I would use to become conscious of presentism is to analyse the objectivity of the historical information. Moreover, the historical event should be presented as they are, meaning that there should be no cover-up of any actions that we may be in disagreement with. People often tend to color history according to modern values and standards, and may also try to make excuses for the past. This results to faulty interpretation of past events. Presentism could be considered as a form of cultural bias or a common fallacy in the writing of history. While studying the signing of the Executive order by President Roosevelt, it would be important to view the historical occurrence exactly as it was. Viewing the government’s move to evacuate the Japanese Americans like racism or discrimination could be considered as presentism.
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