Like with a driver's licence, takers of artistic licence must prove themselves worthy of it. Tim Rice's approach is actually based on ironic anachronisms, thus not to be criticized at all for them.

Writers like Shakespeare write stories set in history but developing their message by themselves. Licence is granted according to the quality and intrinsic correctness of the story.

It is a different thing if historical facts are used as arguments; these should be correct and set in their correct context. I am sure that we can learn from history, but only if we take a modest approach, which does not really go well with passionate appeals.