I guess Eric and I have a dialog developing.  I usually maintain such
dialogs off museum-l, but this seems to be striking a larger chord...

Eric,

  Thanks for your comments.  I think my general bias - we have such things
of course - is away from extremism of every kind; I am very much the
moderate, though perhaps the new term "radical middle" well defines me.  I
see too much the willingness in the museum community to make catagorical
generalizations about right and wrong, with "right" often being on some
politically correct vein.  This of course creats a counter reaction on other
politically correct veins, as is well illustrated by the Enola Gay affair.
I think this attitude is extremely dangerous to us as a community.

  The mainstream of America is quite distinct from the highly educated,
often Liberal, frequently elitist folks that get into the museum world.  If
the museum community starts to pick fights with the mainstream it will lose,
and it will lose in the worst possible way -- it will be marginalized and
ignored by those ordinary people whom the museum world needs the most.  This
I believe very strongely.  Hence my reaction to your "gross distortions" and
etc.  My feeling is that if mainstream America learns some things from theme
parks this is all right, since the alternative for many Americans is to
learn no things at all.  Some of those things that are learned I will agree
and some I will disagree with, and thats OK.  Some theme park visitors will
get interested in history and explore further, and may come to question some
of their original assumptions; for others the theme parks will simply
confirm what they know already.  I think in the broad analysis the theme
parks are a collection of good and bad, and that is good enough.  But for us
to focus exclusively on the bad is to make enemies, and to create counter
reactions that, particularly in these changing political climates, may be
dangerous to us.

  If the theme parks are too general and simplistic, and as in "Pocahontas"
simply incorrect historically, let us remember that our displays have their
own biases and are frequently disagreeable to some people.  There are lots
of viewpoints out there and each needs it own outlet.  To advocate excluding
one viewpoint will have the effect of excluding others.  I think we are well
off letting well enough alone.

  I am personally a bit unconfortable with those who present one viewpoint -
their viewpoint- as being right and others as being wrong.  If we take that
too far then we quite thinking about other viewpoints and then cease to
learn.



Kevin McCartney, Ph.D.
Associate Prof., Geology
Director, Northern Maine Museum of Science
University of Maine at Presque Isle
Presque Isle, ME  04769