In this week’s edition of the Better UTAH Beat, Maryann discusses the way contemporaries use history to advance claims in support of their arguments. From gay marriage to gun rights, many on the American right are distorting history to make their own claims seem reasonable and consistent. The practice is similar to the tactics used by the totalitarian state in George Orwell’s popular novel, 1984. Despite what right-wing activists from the Tea Party movement might suggest, we haven’t always been at war with Eastasia.