Donald Trump's August 12 order calls for an internal review of Smithsonian exhibitions and materials, demanding that exhibits reflect "the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story." The order criticizes focus on "how bad slavery was" and seeks to whitewash history by emphasizing unity over dissent. The demand for enforced unity exposes an intent to suppress controversy and heterodox views. The founders enshrined debate and criticism in the First Amendment and saw unity as a goal rather than a presumption. The White House aims to use political power to reshape culture and historical narratives.
The exercise of debate and criticism, which was so important to the founders of the country that they enshrined its value in the First Amendment to the Constitution, is anathema to the current regime in Washington. The founders recognized that we, the people, would always have grievances-the final word of the amendment-and therefore that our unity (with our government, with each other) could only ever be a goal, not a presumed fact or a metaphysical postulate of history.
The White House, however, wants to rewrite "the American story" to create a new identity for this country. It wants to remake our culture because it follows Andrew Breitbart's dictum that culture is upstream of politics, but those in power have come to realize that the stream is circular, and that political action can be upstream of culture too. It wants to use its power to remake our culture-or rather, to reinvigorate a strain in the culture that has been dormant for a long time.
Collection
[
|
...
]