The museums of the Smithsonian Institute are among America’s great treasures. Within the span of a few city blocks in the nation’s capital, you can see the tattered flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the “Star-Spangled Banner,” Mr. Rogers’ sweater and shoes, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, a fragment of the Berlin Wall and touch a piece of the moon.
All for free.
If you’ve never visited the museums that flank the National Mall in Washington, D.C., it cannot be recommended enough. You don’t have to be a lover of history or America, or space or everything in between to appreciate the remarkable exhibits.
Not everything on display is perfect or status quo or comfortable, however.
Parts of the American History Museum go in-depth into America’s wars and Civil Rights. The newest museum, the National Museum of African American History & Culture, can be emotionally overwhelming and spiritually exhausting.
These museums represent America, the world, the globe and beyond. The good and the bad. The amazing and the depressing.
And now these great houses of learning are being targeted for review because they aren’t exceptional enough, apparently. The museums will undergo a “comprehensive internal review of selected … museums and exhibitions. This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
The above is from a letter provided by officials at the White House to the head of the Smithsonian.
The review, officials note, is in preparation to highlight American exceptionalism during the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026, and to ensure exhibits are in line with Executive Order 14253, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.
That last part tells you all you need to know.
Truth and sanity. Whose truth and sanity?
History is messy. It’s why we’re told to learn from it.
History is unfair. It’s told by winners.
History is complicated. It’s almost never binary; multiple causes and effects.
White House officials promise the review will be a partnership with museum leaders.
Sure hope so, but don’t hold your breath for the end result. We know who the winners will be.
“We view this process as a collaborative and forward-looking opportunity — one that empowers museum staff to embrace a revitalized curatorial vision rooted in the strength, breadth and achievements of the American story,” the letter notes.
Which sort of sounds good, unless you’re curious what a “revitalized curatorial vision” looks like, and whose vision it is?
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been re-written, every picture has been re-painted, every statue and street and building has been re-named, every date has been altered,” Orwell told us. “And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped.”
Sanitizing history doesn’t help. It might make someone feel better, but it’s not real.