Eric: In response to your 31 Jan. post to me: > ...That is a rush to judgement that the Smithsonian Secretary has, to > his credit, apparently declined. I agree wholeheartedly!!! But, as I understand it, Mr. Heyman is waiting for things to cool down before he takes any kind of personnel action. > ...if everyone wants to see a story told in a certain way, your post > suggests, then that is how the museum should present it. After all, > museums do have responsibilities to the marketplace. I think in the marketplace of ideas, there is plenty of room (and tolerance) for diverse expressions of opinion and points-of-view. I think the *power* of factions envisioned by Madison, et.al. is still working pretty well. I hope we never become a homogenized society were *everyone* wants the same thing. I also hope we stay ever-vigilant against the tyranny of a majority. Paraphrasing Th. Jefferson, I pledge eternal hostility toward this kind of thing. I also try to remember that the *bolshevik/menshevik* sword cuts both ways. > I'm sure that you are accurately describing the way museums > will increasingly function... I think I described the way museums have always functioned. For the most part, patron audiences are small on a museum-by-museum basis. As is often the case, both a museum and its core constituency are like-minded in many respects. Fractal theory works well here. The Smithsonian is *everymuseum* writ large. On its broad shoulders should ride the interests of its audience...the *Mythical American*...and I think Mr. Smithson would agree. > ...particularly the consensus represented by congresspeople...etc. Congresspeople are audience-people, too. Some are even human. They also operate with their *enlightened self-interest* buttons switched on high. Behind every congressperson is a constituency and a pledge to the country they serve. In their purest form both of these motivations are honorable and deserving of respect. Collectively, they (congresspeople and their constituencies) can be counted on as fair measures of a national constituency's mood, perceptions and historical perspective. With regard to the Enola Gay issue, I think the geographical expression known as the United States spoke loud and clear. The country has a voice and it is heard in places like the Smithsonian Institution. > ...those with the power get to tell the story. You're right, but not absolutely. Right has might, but not always. These, I think, are facts of life. > ...what in the world is wrong with using "hindsight" to present the > context of a story? There's nothing wrong with hindsight as long as we don't try to ascribe today's thoughts to yesterday's people. I think *hindsight* and *historical context* are mutually exclusive terms. Its like a 250 lb. man feeling guilty about a fight he didn't break up between his parents when he was 5 years old. The "if I knew then what I know now" approach must go hand-in-hand with a "that was then, this is now" thought process. > ...Isn't that what historians do? Good ones do it well, contextually speaking. > ...the calculation of casualties avoided in Japan, and the > motivations behind the dropping of the bomb (whether, for > example, it had an element of warning to the Soviets) appear > to be subjects on which honest and well-informed people can > disagree. I, and probably most everyone else couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, this wasn't the issue. If that's what the *Times* is focusing on, I guess I have to say the paper needs bifocals. Way out west here, the *Searchlight* waxed eloquently on the question, what if we had The Bomb, didn't use it, invaded Japan and suffered 10000, 100000, or 1,000,000 casualties as a result? By the way, I wonder how many Japanese citizens would have layed down their lives in defense of their country if we had invaded. My guess is a hell of a lot more men, women and children than were lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I wish the Smithsonian had measured twice, cut once. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rich Jones Governing Board For: Development Director Carter House Natural Science Museum Shasta Natural Science Association Redding Arboretum By The River [log in to unmask] SNSA Environmental Resources Center