Concerns of "sensitivity" for a group of sheep who were taken to a political
circus by some of our leading cultural warriors aside - read Philip Nobile's
"Judgement at the Smithsonian"  The exhibit planned was a rather simple and
mundane view of the A-Bomb and the contoversy surrounding its use which
existed from the very beginning of its development.  But why should we ask
that this mild historical complexity be allowed in a national museum?

Laurence Jarvik said...
I suggest you read the Washington Post coverage of the Enola Gay
debate and talk to the Post reporter. You should also contact the
staff of Sen. Ted Stevens and Cong. Sam Johnson, who conducted
hearings into the matter. The New York Times' coverage has not
been balanced in this regard, and the Post got it right. I hope
you've seen the show they put up -- it was excellent, and did not
ignore the destruction caused by the bomb, nor the sufferring.
However, it did focus on the Enola Gay. It is, after all, an "Air
and Space Museum" not a war atrocity museum or a branch of the
Holocaust Museum, which the now-departed curator was trying to
make it in his original script.
A little "sensitivity" to the critics of the show would be
welcome. You can call the American Legion and they'll give you
their p.o.v., too.
Yours sincerely,
Laurence Jarvik
Editor