History consisting of cause and effect is a deterministic argument. What should blow your mind is that the great majority of people DO NOT understand the nature of cause and effect in history or in anything else. The great majority believes in superstitious control mechanisms that allow free will to be executed. They miss out on subtleties and fine data that might explain rationally why things happen and give favor to simplified reasoning that fits in with their favored point of view. So, the statement, "history consists of cause and effect" is actually quite brilliant when you consider the ignorance of the masses; their continual denial of truth in favor of rosy red pictures and self-assuredness.
Nothing "deserves" context. It's not any sort of compliment to contextualize. It doesn't excuse crimes or prevent the application of terms like "evil". If others aren't at all interested in learning more about the system that arose (it was NOT just Hitler, and it was NOT something that could have happened just anywhere at any time) then... OK. I don't see why or how it follows that Stone should have to be executed and dumped into a mass grave, though. Ed O.
Just saw a special on the History Channel about the JFK assassination. The real historians on that show ragged on Stone's JFK movie for spewing a bunch of bogus things that people now accept as fact. Including attributing speeches to Jim Garrison that he never made. The expectation is that he'll equally play loose with the truth in this film. http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm And in particular: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/jfkmovie.htm The following is adapted from notes prepared by attorney Mark Zaid for a 1993 course on the Kennedy Assassination taught at Hudson Valley Community College, New York. The list has been supplemented by John McAdams, Eric Paddon, Russ Burr, and Patricia Lambert's book False Witness. It's a very partial account of ways in which Stone tampered with the historical record.
