A small, hopefully constructive response to Mr. Fireproof (just kid'n)
 
Regarding the timing, your guess is as good as mine, although it is clear that
Smithsonian, after years of requests by veterans and congressmen, had to put
the machine on public display at least before all those who fought passed on.
What is interesting in the debate is a) the Enola Gay has been on show for
years at the restauration unit in Suitland, MD, and anyone could take the tour
and view it. Few people seem to remember this in their arguments about the
upcoming exhibit. b) Why raise such a stink when the other B-29 has been on
show, complete, for years at the Air Force Museum in Dayton? Either way,
Smithsonian was serving the public interest by scheduling the exhibit. As for
the context, I suppose one needs to consider both the definition of context and
what we expect of a museum. I remember World War I aviation enthusiasts
arguing about the World War I aviation gallery (opened in 1991) because it had
manequins of soldiers in trenches. To these people, this was too wide a
context. One did not need to know that most of WWI was a ground battle that
changed the face of warfare, in the very least. Explaining the difficult tasks
of pilots was all that mattered because this was an aviation museum. This, in
my view, overlooked the fact that for these people to fly, there had to be
ground support, ground infrastuctures, targets, etc. No matter, many
enthusiasts (serious and otherwise) felt this was "out of context." So to get
back to the Enola Gay, how much is context. I have not seen the scripts of the
exhibits, so I honestly do not know how much change has gone in the revision.
But from what has transpired, there is a Japanese suicide bomber included in
the exhibit, alongside pictures of the effects of the bomb. What is acceptable
context? Taking away pictures of the victims? Removing the "Bakka"? Following
Tibett's comment to just stick the forward section in a room without any
explanations? You may get hundreds of different responses to this in trying to
define what the public should know. This brings one to the purpose of a museum.
Should one visit his/her "national attick" to feel good about it or do we also
want to challenge people in their thoughts and suggest that they learn more. Do
not get me wrong, I was appalled by the way the National Gallery prepared the
exibit "How the West was won" sometime back. You have a point regarding extreme
revisionism and museum review issues in this case. Museums nowadays try to do
more than exhibit material "just like that." By teaching, you obviously risk
offending someone or challenging a point-of-view. I for one believe that of
John Smith takes his family in July to "see the planes in the shoebox" before
crossing the mall to look at the dinosaurs, it does not mean that he must
have all his assumptions about the bomb confirmed. Because we pay taxes, does
it mean that we approve of every law passed by government? The initial attack on
 the
Enola Gay exhibit was one in which too much of the "Japanese point of view" was
presented. Alright, but if the exhibit has now been revised to include the
veterans point-of-view, too, then is it not balanced? Do you know that it took
years before the V-2 rocket on show got a label explaining that it was used to
bomb civilians in England, Belgium and France? The point is, it finally got the
label. Better late than never.
 
In closing, I think the people at Smithsonian deserve credit for trying. Based
on the shots exchanged between "Air&Space Smithsonian" and "Air Force Magazine"
it is hard to tell what really happened, but I think the exhibit should go
forward, so that the public may judge for ityself, beyond scripts which most of
us have not seen. The wider issues of who controls history will be there no
matter what happens, so why not let Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer (since this seems to
also be the crux of the matter) decide rather than taking them to be fools? Two
cents and many lines worth, some of which may sound simplistic, but which I have
 not
not really seen discussed.
 
 
Guillaume de Syon
independent scholar
741 College Ave
Lancaster, PA 17603
(717) 392-7497
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