I don't want to get into politics either, so I'll be brief. What of the
hundreds of thousands of equally priceless Iraqi lives lost to Saddam's
regime? Would it have been better to have allowed its savagery to continue
rather than to have it ended through war? Or is the suffering of these
people not to be thought of because it doesn't fit the politically correct
requirement that, from all appearances, only white male conservative leaders
are to be condemned?

Best wishes,

Thomas Berry, Archivist
Historical Construction Equipment Association
16623 Liberty Hi Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
Phone 419-352-5616
Fax 419-352-6086
[log in to unmask]
http://www.hcea.net







----- Original Message -----
From: Indigo Nights
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 8:31 AM
Subject: Re: All is not lost in Baghdad Museums...


Deb, I don't want to get into the politics of it all here, but we, as
Americans, have no room to talk about deception.

Until we can account for how many weapons of mass destruction have been
found in the same timeframe we allowed the UN inspectors to look (only we
had weapons of individual and cluster destruction to assist us in our
search), we have no room whatsoever to question the integrity of others.  If
you're not following the ever increasing public sentiment that something
smells rotten, and it's not in Denmark, then do a little query on
http://news.google.com and see how many are now questioning our own
involvement and what the CIA is saying about pressure to generate deceiptful
information from on high (as in #2 in command and his Neocon cronies).

It was, after all, only 33 priceless artifacts than can never be replaced.
But I think I recently read it was something like 3,000+ priceless human
beings of Iraqi descent, and I don't know the number of precious American
soldiers that were sacrificed for this folly.  When we can match the number
of WMD to artifacts lost, we may have room to talk.

If we have a responsibility to be truthful as museum folks, then the whole
story must be told and not just the one that makes us feel good.

And lest I get zapped by Patriot II, that's enough of that conversation.
Those of you who have documents involving he US Constitution, preserve,
protect, and or hide them if you must.  There's an effort underfoot to
destroy it.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, only as an aside, in the fall, in the
Grand Central Library on 5th Street in Los Angeles (between Grand and
Flower), many treasures from the National Archives will be on exhibit.
Specifically, on December 5-8, the original Emancipation Proclamation will
be on display.  The exhibit is called American Originals.  The library is
looking for volunteers to assist (I have signed up and will be taking the
requisite training in September), and you can find more information by going
to http://www.lapl.org .

For that matter, incidentally, the library is also hiring.  I've posted at
least one or more opportunities on MuseJobs in the last 48 hours.

Someday, in the future, this will be a very interesting time to chronicle on
paper and to document in exhibits throughout the world.

It will be interesting to see how the correction lens of history will frame
these issues.


Deb Fuller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
If it turns out that the museum professionals in question lied to make the
troops look bad and to further their own agendas, then I think ICOM and
UNESCO
as well as the rest of the museum community, should call for them to step
down
and never allow them in a museum again. The public might not care but we
should. It affects our own integrity as museum professionals and sends a
message to the community that it's okay to twist information around for our
own
gains.

This isn't limited to hiding artifacts but presenting information in
general.
If we excuse deliberate deception, will we also excuse misinformation in
exhibits or when publishing research? If the public isn't disallusioned with
us
now, how will they fell about us after a few more cases of deliberate
misinformation have been uncovered?

Deb



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Indigo Nights
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