Christian Alejandro Gonzalez questions the Smithsonian’s approach toward American history.
The ongoing dispute over how the Smithsonian should present American history has pitted the Trump administration against the museum organization’s leadership, much of the mainstream media, and many professional historical associations.
Trump wants the Smithsonian’s exhibits to be less woke and more patriotic. …
… Both the administration and the Smithsonian’s defenders frame themselves as the advocates of a genuinely accurate and politically impartial history. In doing so, they are competing for the moral high ground. But these appeals to neutrality misrepresent the nature of the dispute. If they want to win the debate—and tell a true story about America—they should drop the pretense of neutrality and admit that they want the Smithsonian to promote a moral and political project.
That may sound counterintuitive, but it will actually allow both sides to contend directly with the dispute’s central question: How should we morally judge and present the story of America as a whole? In the last analysis, is it a tale of triumph or of tragedy? This kind of question can only be answered by reference to our moral values, to our judgments about how to morally appraise the facts of our history. …
… Yet it is obvious that content decisions at the NMAH are not driven solely by a concern for accuracy. Hartig herself has said that she wants the museum to shift away from celebratory narratives about the national story. The museum has hosted workshops designed to explore how museum work can promote the aims of social justice (as that term is understood by progressives). Many of the NMAH’s supplementary materials, such as its guides for teachers, evidently promote left-wing ideas. And that’s not even to mention one of the administration’s most just complaints against the museum: its use of taxpayer funds to advocate for progressive positions on contemporary policy issues, such as those concerning transgender rights, illegal immigration, and abortion.
