I think the issue is loyalty.  One can be loyal to one's profession,
one's employer or one's own self.  What is being asked in the NPS case
is to set loyalty to the employer (the federal government, as
personified by the President and his personal agenda) above loyalty to
the profession or to one's own sense of right and wrong.  Everyone has
their own way of ranking these loyalties.  Conflict occurs when one is
required by others to reorder them.  If the person who's doing the
asking is not aware of the importance of professional standards or
personal ethics as the primary motivator for why a person follows a
career path, then what will happen is an entire cadre of people doing
the right job for the wrong reasons, or doing the right job for the
right reasons but being led by someone who is motivated by a different
set of loyalties.

What's at stake is the entire rationale of a federal government, or any
public service:  differentiating the interests of a few from the
well-being of the many and acting in preference of the latter.  Museums
generally do a good job of pointing the loyalty equation (to mix a
metaphor!) in favor of the profession, which is probably the safest way
to go. Too bad that this ideal cannot be applied across the board. 

Julia Muney Moore
Public Art Administrator
Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis, IN
(317) 875-5500 x230
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Deb Fuller
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 7:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: National Parks SErvice....

On 10/18/05, Indigo Nights <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Deb, here's the so what:  While some part of the
> procedure may not be completely new, it's the
> requiring that those hired mimic the "Bush agenda" on
> the environment that causes me concern.  I know a lot
> of folks get offended when one speaks of politics
> here, but you cannot address this without so doing.

And how is this different from any other museum with a director and a
board of directors that set policy and run it? The director of a
museum is charged with carrying out the policy and agendas set by the
board. No board of directors is going to hire someone that doesn't
agree with them or their policies. So why should the NPS hire people
that don't agree with its policy and agendas which are handed down
from the DOI and ultimately from Bush? Not saying that I agree with
said policies and agendas mind you; just saying that they aren't
requiring anything different from any other museum or federal agency
out there.

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).