Nick Danforth: History Lessons at the New York Times

For anyone who thinks the study of history can offer crucial insights into contemporary problems, the New York Times appears committed to proving that it can offer banal, simplistic, or misleading insights as well. Every couple weeks the editors of the paper’s op-ed page run an article in which some sort of respectable professor tries to use the past to explain the present. More often than not, they do so by offering a smattering of facts, anecdotes, and historical examples in service of a crude, marginally relevant generalization. In a similar spirit, consider these highlights from the past few months.

“German Austerity’s Lutheran Core.” Steven Ozment, August 11, 2012

The Germans are not Nazis but good, responsible Protestants who will deal with the Eurocrisis accordingly:

With the steady advance of Islam into Europe over the last two decades and in the face of unrelenting economic pressure from their neighbors, it is no surprise that Germans of all backgrounds have now again quietly found “a mighty fortress” for themselves in their own Judeo-Christian heritage....