Honesty

 I'd like to be direct and honest for a moment. I've been working on the story of Antonio Landín for several years now. I've seen him as a hero, as a villain, as a victim (or at least a casualty) of Mexican Revolutionary politics.

But who was Antonio Landín?

To be completely honest, I still don't know. 

I've written engaging narratives about his efforts to protect Mexican people in and around Columbus, New Mexico, following Villa's raid. I've also tried to assess why he acted in the ways he did. 

I've done my level best given the sources available to me. 

Yet, to pretend that I know the inner dealings of Landín would be disingenuous. At the same time, I'm a historian. We build careers on providing the best, most objective, narratives of the past as possible.

I know that certain sectors of the American populace would think that I just told on myself and the discipline of History. That is most assuredly not the case. 

Histories are constructed on "the historical record"--a set of documents, audio recordings, films, and other accounts that human beings created for a variety of different reasons. 

Historians are, of necessity, interpreters of that record.

Interpretation is our role and calling (depending on your predilection).