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When they select materials for their secondary analyses, historical researchers will invariably seek out those sources that conform to their preconceptions about what took place or who did what and will use these sources to support their perspectives.
Unfortunately, because people are just people, these processes are unavoidable when history is recorded in any fashion, and even modern cinematography and photojournalism that provides viewers with concrete and instantaneous images of events only manages to provide a "snapshot" view of a particular event, again through the unique view of the researchers or journalists involved. Witness the toppling of the statues of Saddam Hussein that were featured prominently on American television followed Gulf War II or the crowds waving Iraqi flags in the street in seeming celebration. Well, it turns out that these events were either staged by the American forces or were otherwise manipulated to convince the American public that their forces were being greeted as liberators rather than invaders. Alas, even former Iraqi prisoner-of-war Jessica Lynch, celebrated as a genuine American hero, was forced to testify before a congressional hearing last week to explain that her "rescue" simply did...
military said it did and yet another hero bites the dust of the gatekeepers of the truth.
In reality, there is nothing that modern observers can do to change the historic record itself or the manner in which it is reported because of the issues discussed above as well as countless others that may relate to the unique motivations of the individuals involved. Nevertheless, it is possible to gain some insights concerning a given historic event by using primary and secondary sources if the researcher keeps an open mind and is not scared to question what appear to be historic "facts." Modern observers should also seek out as many sources as possible concerning a given event in order to draw as broad a conclusion as possible about what really happened. In any event, even with the most "reliable" history textbook or other source, the information presented must be taken with a grain of skeptical salt because inaccuracies, errors, omissions, half-truths and out-and-out lies sprinkle the historic record like flowers in a meadow.
References
Loewen, J.W. (1995). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your high school history textbook got wrong. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group.
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