I recently visited the Richard Nixon library and museum in Yorba Linda, CA.
It was a fascinating collection of artifacts from his childhood and political
career. I was struck by several "facts" that were described in text that
accompanied the exhibit. One was a derision of protestors as the "violent
minority" which, of course, marginalizes a great number of legitimate protestor
s of that era. Another was an indirect attack on Sam Ervin of watergate
congressional fame, who, as the exhibit described, had only very recently been
opposed to desegration.(There was a distinct implication here that Ervin could
not have performed his constitutional duty) A third "fact" was the ease with
which the tape machine of that era could have had technical problems and
therefore a gap could easily be explained. Perhaps equally interesting were
omissions such as the illegal bombing of Cambodia.
 
I am curious about whether people on the museum list think such "facts" need
to be balanced in such a setting. The Nixon library is privately funded and
therefore have no obligation to take an objective perspective. What is the
responsibility of such a facility to the public as far as presentation of
"truth"? Is this standard different than other types of museums?
 
 
 Scott Lewis
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