Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
It’s Christmastime in all of America, and that means that decorations – and going to see decorations – are a thing. For those people who live in, or are visiting, Washington, D.C., during the holiday season, visiting the White House for their White House Christmas Tour might be on their list of things to do. Now, it’s not as easy as just showing up and walking into the front door; you have to sign up for tickets, send your information, be confirmed for attendance at a specific time slot and then show up and wait in a tremendous number of lines in the cold to get in. But once inside, you get to see how several areas and important rooms in the White House are decorated for the holiday season. I recently went on the holiday tour and had a time.
In addition to the decorations, you also see lots of portraits, artifacts and historical items that are permanently placed throughout America’s most famous residence. You see portraits of former presidents and first ladies. You see the displays of various china that was used during different administrations – going back as far as the early 1800s – statues and tiny monuments, etc. It’s as interesting for what’s inside as it is for the holiday decorations. Especially because, when it comes to American history, a lot of people are very wrong about a lot of our history. That’s understandable. U.S. history covers almost 250 years (I can’t imagine what it would be like taking a British history or Chinese history course ) — but whew, chile.
Now look, I didn’t go to the White House expecting to ear hustle anybody’s conversation, but once you hear a few too many alternate facts, you can’t help but wonder just how much aggressively shared misinformation is out there. For instance, and how this whole thing started, I was minding my business checking out…
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