When Is Historical Fiction More Truthful Than Real History?

There are some things you cannot say in real life due to upsetting folks or making a truism that offends the politically correct. However, by not saying it at all you do is sweep the real problems, and animosity under the carpet. This only furthers the problems down the road, and that dirt will come out from under the carpet at the most inopportune time, as it is Murphy’s Law. Now then, it seems to me that a good number of writers turn to fiction, and specifically those that turn to historical fiction – do so, so they can tell a story without being challenged or attacked for telling the truth, albeit how they see it.
For instance, if you were to read a historical fiction piece about the Civil War, those writing from the perspective of the Confederate Army would or living in the South at the time would be much different than those in the North. Each would have their own view, and they would try to tell the story in a truthful way, now that they were no longer bound to our society’s rules of political correctness. It’s good to read such things, because it gives us better insight, especially in a historical fictional piece which is well written, and well researched.
One problem we have today, especially in our schools, is we keep rewriting the textbooks every 20 years, at least that’s the way it used to be, now we seem to be rewriting the textbooks every 5 to 10 years. We take out words that are offensive, and we modify anything which doesn’t fit in our current context. However that really isn’t the truth is it? And one point I’d like to make, and I’ve made it quite often, especially in my talks, and articles is that the famous quote; “those who fail to study their history, are doomed to repeat it” – should probably read; “those who fail to study their history ‘correctly’ are doomed to repeat it.”
Now then, if we keep modifying the textbooks as we go, we are never teaching our children the truth of our history. And yet they are going to grow up in 20 years, and they will be leading the charge, and taking our nation into the future. This is somewhat problematic, because we are setting them up for a failure, or if we take the quote literally, to be “doomed” if you will. That’s not a very nice thing to do is it? No, it’s not, and it’s not very wise if we hope to have our civilization continue. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it. Keep writing historical fiction, because it might just save us all.