The cynical part of me says I shouldn't be surprised at how history distorts itself through the eyes of those in the middle of it, but I can't help it -- I'm constantly surprised by the machinations of man in his effort to make things smell good. It's like a deodorant commercial of the mind. Mmmm, doesn't that past smell good? Just as a quick example, were you taught about the wholesale slaughter of people in the Phillippines by American soldiers? I wasn't.
I'm not totally surprised that the sheriff of one of my home towns (Everett, Washington) authorized a posse of men to open fire on a boatload of labor activists (and now the union is so strong at Boeing...?). What really surprised me was how many "broken arrows" (good luck looking it up...) there have been that have seemingly been swept under the carpet. Whoopsie! This one scares me almost as much as the idea that dive excursions at Bikini Atoll are now scheduled for entertainment! Oh, I'm sure it's safe...