The Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, stands as a symbol of the importance of preserving cultural heritage, fostering intellectual growth, and providing public education.
Thank you for illuminating the eery parallels. Since learning of the Trump administration’s dissolution of the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities (on this Substack), and the subsequent takeover of the Kennedy Center, the scrubbing of certain words from government websites, the designation as English as the official language, the mandating of “classical” architectural standards, the silencing of the Voice of America, and now, the Smithsonian takeover, I fear we are in the midst of the greatest culture war, a systematic cultural cleansing, if you will, that may be a more insidious attack on the American ethos than anyone can imagine. For further context to your excellent post, I would recommend to your readers the film, The Rape of Europa. Yes, it can happen here.
You’ve summed it up perfectly....the systematic dismantling of cultural institutions isn’t just about controlling art; it’s about controlling collective memory and shaping the narrative of who belongs and who doesn’t. The parallels are undeniable, and as history has shown, culture is always the first battlefield in authoritarian regimes. The Rape of Europa is an essential watch, and sadly, it feels less like history and more like a warning. Yes, it can happen here....because it already is.
I was shocked to hear about it this morning, and yet, not hugely surprised. Book banning has been going on for the last few years in the US, it was only a matter of time it would become obvious. They're following the Fascism playbook.
The question of defining democratic societies as a success or failure becomes the launch point. Authoritarians will argue democracy is a failing enterprise in history, that is why they need to take control. How we counter it will be the question.
I appreciate the thoughtful engagement and the respect you've expressed. I completely agree that extremes on both ends of the political spectrum can be dangerous. The erasure of history, whether through the removal of cultural works or the suppression of inconvenient truths, is something that should concern us all.
That said, context is everything. Not all removals of public art or monuments are equal. Some may have been genuinely about erasing history, while others were about re-evaluating what we choose to publicly glorify, like Columbus, whose legacy of "discovery" is inseparable from genocide, enslavement, and the destruction of Indigenous cultures. Acknowledging the full truth isn’t erasure; it’s accountability.
Art should educate, provoke thought, and challenge us, but there’s a difference between preserving history in museums and celebrating figures in public spaces who symbolize oppression to many.
I also think it’s crucial to recognize that the dismantling of culture and education is a long-standing issue, and while you’re right to call out the dangers of ideological extremism on all sides, the attacks on the arts and humanities we’re seeing now aren’t just a natural pendulum swing; they’re part of an orchestrated effort to reshape national identity in a way that serves power, not truth.
I appreciate you standing with me against fascism and abuses of power, and I welcome this kind of dialogue because the only way to preserve culture, art, and history is to be willing to wrestle with the complexities, even when it's uncomfortable.
I appreciate your thoughts and the personal history you shared. You’re absolutely right that history is messy....deeply so. And yes, every administration, past and present, carries an agenda to shape culture, whether explicitly or implicitly. That’s the nature of power, and it has been since the beginning of civilization.
I hear the pain in your recollections of the slurs and jokes you endured, and I respect how you sought out figures like Marie Curie as a beacon amid that. That instinct....to find something to hold onto, to push back against erasure or belittlement, is universal. And it’s why history matters so much. But history isn’t static. The way we understand it changes as new perspectives, sources, and voices are brought into the conversation. The goal isn’t to destroy history but to expand it....to acknowledge what has been left out, ignored, or softened. That includes reckoning with Columbus not just as an explorer but as a figure whose actions had devastating consequences for Indigenous peoples.
You mention the brutality of many cultures, including Indigenous and African ones, and it’s true....human history is full of conquest, violence, and oppression. But I think there’s a difference between recognizing the complexities of history and using that as a way to lessen the impact of specific histories, particularly when one group’s suffering has been historically minimized or justified. The fact that the U.S. represented 2% of the transatlantic slave trade doesn’t change the reality that slavery shaped this nation’s economy, institutions, and racial dynamics in ways that are still felt today. The existence of abolitionists and Christian reformers doesn’t erase the role of religious and political institutions in upholding slavery for centuries, just as the missionary efforts of some Christians to aid and educate Native Americans don’t erase the role of Christian institutions in forcibly converting, displacing, and oppressing Indigenous peoples through policies like the boarding school system.
I don’t think there’s an agenda to “destroy everything America was from its outset.” I do think there’s an effort, sometimes clumsy, sometimes forceful, to make room for histories that were suppressed for generations. That can feel unsettling, even destabilizing, especially when it comes with passionate calls for change. But isn’t that the nature of progress? It’s rarely neat.
I respect that you want to be a light in the world, and I believe conversations like this are part of that work. We don’t have to agree on every detail, but as long as we approach history, and each other, with a willingness to listen and learn, we’re on the right path.
Thank you for illuminating the eery parallels. Since learning of the Trump administration’s dissolution of the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities (on this Substack), and the subsequent takeover of the Kennedy Center, the scrubbing of certain words from government websites, the designation as English as the official language, the mandating of “classical” architectural standards, the silencing of the Voice of America, and now, the Smithsonian takeover, I fear we are in the midst of the greatest culture war, a systematic cultural cleansing, if you will, that may be a more insidious attack on the American ethos than anyone can imagine. For further context to your excellent post, I would recommend to your readers the film, The Rape of Europa. Yes, it can happen here.
You’ve summed it up perfectly....the systematic dismantling of cultural institutions isn’t just about controlling art; it’s about controlling collective memory and shaping the narrative of who belongs and who doesn’t. The parallels are undeniable, and as history has shown, culture is always the first battlefield in authoritarian regimes. The Rape of Europa is an essential watch, and sadly, it feels less like history and more like a warning. Yes, it can happen here....because it already is.
Yes. It can.
I was shocked to hear about it this morning, and yet, not hugely surprised. Book banning has been going on for the last few years in the US, it was only a matter of time it would become obvious. They're following the Fascism playbook.
He's not even trying to hide it.
The question of defining democratic societies as a success or failure becomes the launch point. Authoritarians will argue democracy is a failing enterprise in history, that is why they need to take control. How we counter it will be the question.
JD Vance now the arbitrar of American culture. Think about that.
That scares the living daylights out of me.
100%
Scary
Very scary indeed.
Where are the Democrats?
Something we'd all like to know.
I appreciate the thoughtful engagement and the respect you've expressed. I completely agree that extremes on both ends of the political spectrum can be dangerous. The erasure of history, whether through the removal of cultural works or the suppression of inconvenient truths, is something that should concern us all.
That said, context is everything. Not all removals of public art or monuments are equal. Some may have been genuinely about erasing history, while others were about re-evaluating what we choose to publicly glorify, like Columbus, whose legacy of "discovery" is inseparable from genocide, enslavement, and the destruction of Indigenous cultures. Acknowledging the full truth isn’t erasure; it’s accountability.
Art should educate, provoke thought, and challenge us, but there’s a difference between preserving history in museums and celebrating figures in public spaces who symbolize oppression to many.
I also think it’s crucial to recognize that the dismantling of culture and education is a long-standing issue, and while you’re right to call out the dangers of ideological extremism on all sides, the attacks on the arts and humanities we’re seeing now aren’t just a natural pendulum swing; they’re part of an orchestrated effort to reshape national identity in a way that serves power, not truth.
I appreciate you standing with me against fascism and abuses of power, and I welcome this kind of dialogue because the only way to preserve culture, art, and history is to be willing to wrestle with the complexities, even when it's uncomfortable.
I appreciate your thoughts and the personal history you shared. You’re absolutely right that history is messy....deeply so. And yes, every administration, past and present, carries an agenda to shape culture, whether explicitly or implicitly. That’s the nature of power, and it has been since the beginning of civilization.
I hear the pain in your recollections of the slurs and jokes you endured, and I respect how you sought out figures like Marie Curie as a beacon amid that. That instinct....to find something to hold onto, to push back against erasure or belittlement, is universal. And it’s why history matters so much. But history isn’t static. The way we understand it changes as new perspectives, sources, and voices are brought into the conversation. The goal isn’t to destroy history but to expand it....to acknowledge what has been left out, ignored, or softened. That includes reckoning with Columbus not just as an explorer but as a figure whose actions had devastating consequences for Indigenous peoples.
You mention the brutality of many cultures, including Indigenous and African ones, and it’s true....human history is full of conquest, violence, and oppression. But I think there’s a difference between recognizing the complexities of history and using that as a way to lessen the impact of specific histories, particularly when one group’s suffering has been historically minimized or justified. The fact that the U.S. represented 2% of the transatlantic slave trade doesn’t change the reality that slavery shaped this nation’s economy, institutions, and racial dynamics in ways that are still felt today. The existence of abolitionists and Christian reformers doesn’t erase the role of religious and political institutions in upholding slavery for centuries, just as the missionary efforts of some Christians to aid and educate Native Americans don’t erase the role of Christian institutions in forcibly converting, displacing, and oppressing Indigenous peoples through policies like the boarding school system.
I don’t think there’s an agenda to “destroy everything America was from its outset.” I do think there’s an effort, sometimes clumsy, sometimes forceful, to make room for histories that were suppressed for generations. That can feel unsettling, even destabilizing, especially when it comes with passionate calls for change. But isn’t that the nature of progress? It’s rarely neat.
I respect that you want to be a light in the world, and I believe conversations like this are part of that work. We don’t have to agree on every detail, but as long as we approach history, and each other, with a willingness to listen and learn, we’re on the right path.