That is exactly what Trump means when he talks about institutions aligning with his vision of American history.
Sanitizing American history of critical thinking and historical fact to make the right wing loonies happy is a six lane highway to a fraudulent account of American History.
It would be nice if peaceful Native Americans had not had their land stolen or been murdered. It would be just lovely if the savage crime of slavery and its associated murder, rape and theft of labor were not part of American history but it is.
It would be nice if American corporations hadn’t sold tobacco as a remedy for breathing disorders or put lead in gasoline poisoning tens of millions of Americans when they had better alternatives. It would be nice if there weren’t millions of miles of mining tunnels under the United States, unmaintained and unmapped or if we hadn’t annihilated a good number of plant and animal species but we did.
History is messy. It records the good and the bad.
We call that “telling the truth,” currently out of fashion with the current regime.
I have read a great deal of American history and I find and continue to find much that makes me proud. More and more I discover that people living their lives in communities all over the United States acted with courage and righteousness on behalf of their country.
But I am not so simple minded or foolish to believe that is the whole story. The truth marches on and we should march with it.
If we fail to act and do right as a people and a nation we deserve destruction. No amount of lies and misinformation will cover our crimes. It seems to me that currently the balance between righteousness and evil in America is in the positive zone but will that continue? It is easy to look at the wicked and self serving members of this administration and despair.
But let us have faith in the long arc of history and our nation even in this our lowest and worst point in history.
Let us do what is best and hope that history vindicates us.
Let us tell the truth and live by it.
And that means allowing our historical institutions to actively seek and present the truth.
Thomas Lecaque writing for the Bulwark has some strong words for what the Administration is demanding.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-demands-smithsonian-deliver-shiny-070329562.html
They sure do want “collaboration”—like Anton Mussert, or Philippe Pétain, or Vidkun Quisling. Because this is fascism, and the rewriting of history in service of a fascist mythology is part of the program, from censoring the Smithsonian and the National Park Service to gutting PBS and floating the idea of PragerU replacing it. From putting Jim Crow-era Confederate statues back up to pushing for the return of racist mascots and Confederate names to DHS’s use of manifest destiny and American fascist texts in its social media account.
I recommend you read the full article. He has a lot to say.
And here is the Huffpost talking about the chilling effect of this regimes attacks on our learning institutions. Read what Jennifer Bendery has to say:
Staff are censoring content they fear could upset President Donald Trump. Volunteers are angry and mulling quitting, even as they work for free. Employees are repeatedly warned not to talk to the press.
And the message from on high is that if you care about the Smithsonian Institution and its 17 museums in Washington, D.C., and if you care about your colleagues keeping their jobs or keeping your own, you’ll keep your mouth shut about the chilling effects of Trump’s efforts to erase art and rewrite American history in the ways that he wants.
Here is a CNN report on the subject – but do not expect it to be up very long. They don’t like their video’s on other platforms – so read it while you can.
And here is MSMBC, take.
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