OPINION:
The Smithsonian has become a taxpayer-funded forum for all things woke.
The National Museum of American History is part of the Smithsonian. When its director, Anthea Hartig, testified before the House Oversight subcommittee on delivering on government efficiency this week, Republican members were outraged by what they heard.
When questioned about sexual images in an exhibit intended for children, which included pictures of bondage and transgenderism, Ms. Hartig sounded like a graduate of the Kamala Harris School of Public Speaking.
Ms. Hartig emphatically declared: “So I recognize some of the, um, the images from Entertainment Nation” — one of the exhibits — “and I think from some other sources, but let me tell you what I think is most important.” The rest of her answer, delivered after an interruption, was even more confusing, if that is possible.
Ms. Hartig was also questioned on the Museums as a Site for Social Action Toolkit, which described politeness and objectivity as “defining characteristics of white supremacy culture.” So, if you do not want to be called a racist, be rude, obnoxious and biased.
Lawmakers at the hearing also raised criticism involving Mickey Mouse, questioning whether the character was somehow linked to minstrel shows simply for being black and white and dancing energetically. Is Deputy Dawg meant to appeal to the Klan?
The subcommittee hearing followed a report by the White House Domestic Policy Council, which lambasted the Smithsonian for betraying its founding principles.
The report says that “the Museum purposely presents America as a problematic country, irredeemably conceived, founded by deeply flawed men, and still operating today as an instrument of systemic racism and oppression. In the Museum’s current telling, the country is, above all, defined by White supremacy, slavery, conquest, exclusion, hierarchy, racism, xenophobia, misogyny and systemic injustice.”
Does the British Museum devote itself to debunking English history? Is there a national museum anywhere in the world whose mission it is to present a history that could have been told by its worst enemies?
The Smithsonian receives approximately $959 million annually in federal appropriations, which covers about 62% of its total budget, with significant taxpayer funding channeled directly into the National Museum of American History.
Why not deliver the money in cash, on huge pallets, to Tehran, Havana or Pyongyang and let them tell America’s story? The result would be the same as the Smithsonian’s jaundiced view of American history.
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