My dad came across a quote from Iran's (former) leader:

"A country with only 250 years of history wants to make a civilization with 6,000 years of heritage submit? Impossible!"

I casually replied: "That's just their own propaganda narrative. Take it with a grain of salt."

"Like how we always say 'five thousand years of Chinese history,' but if we're being honest about documented history, counting from the Shang dynasty it's really only about 3,000 years."

Dad immediately shot back: "So China also has 3,000 years!"

I pulled up a map of Shang dynasty territory and showed him:

"Okay, if you accept the Shang as China, then you have to simultaneously accept that 3,000 years ago, this area wasn't 'China'—it was barbarian lands."

In that moment, I watched the sense of ethnic pride in his eyes get doused like cold water thrown on a flame—just gone.

There really are two parallel universes: people who've actually studied history, and people who only accept "officially sanctioned narratives."

All history is ultimately contemporary history.