Legislating History
In October, the Spanish parliament passed a Law on Historical Memory, which bans rallies and memorials celebrating the late dictator Francisco Franco. But this and similar attempts elsewhere to legislate history, while often a hallmark of democratization, can impede free thought or, worse, turn those with abhorrent views into martyrs.
NEW YORK -- In October, the Spanish parliament passed a Law on Historical Memory, which bans rallies and memorials celebrating the late dictator Francisco Franco. His Falangist regime will be officially denounced and its victims honored.