<\/p>\n
A heated hearing took place this week on Capitol Hill where lawmakers questioned the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution \u2014 the world\u2019s largest museum complex \u2014 over claims that it has been pushing a biased and one-sided version of American history. Critics say the Smithsonian has moved away from simply preserving history and is now actively trying to reshape how Americans think about their country.\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told the panel that the Smithsonian is no longer just a museum \u2014 it has become a vehicle for promoting an agenda. He argued that taxpayers, who foot a $1.1 billion bill to fund the institution, deserve better than what they are currently getting.\n<\/p>\n
From the Daily Signal:\n<\/p>\n
\u201cTeaching lessons about American wickedness is now the mission of the Smithsonian,\u201d Gonzalez said during a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency. \u201cIt is the intent of the leadership, and it is precisely what they train the staff to do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to clean house and relieve all Smithsonian leadership of their duties,\u201d Gonzalez said.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what Marxists do. I think that people who want to truly transform the country seize the cultural institutions in order to mold how people think, their own words,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cThe leadership of the Smithsonian says constantly that he wants to use the museum to transform America, for societal transformation. They see history itself as a tool, an instrument, to change society. So, you only have to quote what they say they want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of American History Director Anthea Hartig pushed back strongly, defending the museum as patriotic and nonpartisan.\n<\/p>\n
Questions also arose about specific exhibits on display at the museum. Subcommittee Chairman Tim Burchett raised concerns about content he described as inappropriate for children, including images from an exhibit called \u201cGirlhood (It\u2019s Complicated).\u201d Hartig clarified the exhibit was temporary, ran in 2020, and was not designed for children, noting that warning labels were posted at the entrance for parents.\n<\/p>\n
Rep. Brandon Gill pressed Hartig on a toolkit called the \u201cMASS Action Toolkit,\u201d which described objectivity as a tool of white supremacy. Hartig said the museum did not develop the toolkit and denied promoting any ideology, though she acknowledged the Smithsonian had referenced it. Gonzalez later clarified that the toolkit served as a three-year road map used by Smithsonian staff to address race, class, and gender issues.\n<\/p>\n
The hearing was sparked in part by a White House report titled \u201cSaving America\u2019s Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution\u2019s National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage.\u201d The report raised serious concerns about whether the Smithsonian has drifted from its original mission of honoring and preserving American history into something far more politically driven.\n<\/p>\n
Our history is worth protecting. The stories of who we are as a nation \u2014 our triumphs, our failures, and everything in between \u2014 belong to the American people, not to those with a political agenda. We pray that God would restore integrity and truth to our cultural institutions, that those entrusted with preserving our heritage would do so with honesty and humility, and that the next generation would grow up with a love for this country and a clear understanding of the values it was built upon. May truth always stand.\n<\/p>\n
(Excerpt from the Daily Signal. Photo Credit: Smithsonian Castle from National Mall\/ Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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