Let's be reasonable, what sponsor wants to associate its name with anything, especially an exhibit that is critical of the sponsor or discusses the sponsor in a less than flattering light? As long as museums mounted exhibits that displayed positive stories and showed the progression from the past to the present with the present placed in the spotlight as the best with even greater hope for the future sponsors did not have to be concerned about the messages presented by exhibits. Sponsors could take credit for backing the present and the future and making everyone feel good about themselves after seeing the exhibit. It is no accident that the most heavily funded exhibits are art exhibits which present "beauty" and don't pretend to make social statements (at least in the labels). Exhibits have long thrived on presenting a neutral or even bland view of the objects they contain. The reputation of the Smithsonian was built on showcasing the nation's treasures, such as the Hope Diamond, George Washington's dentures (actually owned by Baltimore College of Dental Surgery of the University of Maryland Dental School), the first ladies gowns, spectacular natural history items like fossils, skeletons, etc. and of, course paintings, sculpture, etc. With these objects captions hardly mattered. Each is its own justification for being on exhibit. However when exhibits began to be organized around themes and historical questions which included making critical statements and questioning the behavior of past heroes and heroines, then public reaction naturally ensued. The WW II veterans could not stand by and see their triumph over Japan which they believed depended on dropping "the bomb" questioned and negated, especially during a special anniversary year. How should a curator have treated this topic? What would you have done? How do you tell a veteran that what he experienced and believed in was wrong? I am no supporter of war and feel very guilty that the U.S. dropped an atom bomb during my lifetime, but then I never had to make any decisions about the war, serve in it or take any blame or credit for it. Curators must learn to discuss with the public far more than they ever have. To develop meaningful exhibits and take critical stances far more dialogs with many groups of people need to take place well before an exhibit takes shape. The best exhibits grow out of interests of the society in which they are mounted and take much nurturing on the part of all concerned. The sponsor's needs and views are only part of a very complex equation.