I knew there was a reason I hadn’t been to the Smithsonian Institution for so long. Like so many other crucial institutions the apathy of sane and patriotic American allowed to become leftist propaganda weapons over the last 50 years or so, the Smithsonian, along with most of the major museums across the country, “stress on narratives over artifacts.” That’s a quote from Jonathan Turley in his annoying understated mode.
White House official Lindsey Halligan condemned the new National Museum of American History’s Entertainment Nation exhibit, writing, “American taxpayers should not be funding institutions that undermine our country or promote one-sided, divisive political narratives. The Smithsonian Institution should present history in a way that is accurate, balanced, and consistent with the values that make the United States of America exceptional.”
Gee, ya think?
That Star Wars exhibit above would have prompted me to walk out of the building. Turley comments, “I was one of those who went to the movie when it came out, and I cannot recall anyone thinking, let alone connecting, the film to Nixon or Vietnam.” Nor can I, because nobody thought that, even the most politics-obsessed. Even film reviewers, always mostly left-leaning and desperate to find hidden messages in the most apolitical films, didn’t think Jabba the Hut was meant to suggest Spiro Agnew, or something.
We’ve known this about the Smithsonian for a long time, of course, but just shrugged it off because so many other example of insidious political corruption are worse. The Institution tried to slap a war crimes narrative on the Enola Gay. It left Clarence Thomas out of the National Museum of African-American History because being conservative means that he doesn’t count.
Among the flagrant propagandizing noted by Turley:
- The commentary tied to a 1923 circus poster, reads: “Under the big top, circuses expressed the colonial impulse to claim dominion over the world.” Ah. So those clowns were supposed to be scary…
- The Smithsonian declares “One of the earliest defining traits of entertainment in the United States was extraordinary violence.” You know, because United States BAD. One of the earliest traits of HUMAN entertainment for thousands of years was “extraordinary violence”! That one would have also had me running for the exits. Gladiators? Bull-baiting? Public executions? Grimm’s Fairy Tales???
- The Lone Ranger display states: “The White title character’s relationship with Tonto resembled how the U.S. government imagined itself the world’s Lone Ranger.”
Oh for God’s sake…
Fix this, Mr. President. Fire the administrators and curators, all of them. Start from scratch.
Ethics Alarms 
We are the world’s Lone Ranger.
We aren’t perfect but we are still laps beyond the next country who might make the claim.
(But that isn’t what the Lone Ranger is about)
And we don’t carry around submissive side-kicks of color.
Tonto was a loyal friend. I don’t recall detecting any negative attitude by the Ranger towards him.
Contrarily when we have to oppose the bad man anywhere in the world we have to grow beat and cajole our “friends” into helping knowing full well the whole time they’ll trash talk our efforts and drag their feet. Well at least until the bad man is their next door neighbor. Then they’re all about supporting us carrying almost the full effort.
So is ther Smithsonian as bad as NPR with nearly complete democrats in the hierarchy?
Yes.
Sometimes a tree is jsut a tree and not the phallic symbol of the domiant over shadowing patriarchy.
If that plaque was written by a human, I doubt that human ever saw the original Star Wars trilogy. As far as I remember, the closest it gets to discussing government at all is a brief conversation with Lando Calrissian about the work involved in running Cloud City.
Furthermore, it’s bizarre to assume that visitors to the museum will understand “Jedi”, “Wookiee”, and “droid” but won’t know what a “smuggler” is. Calling Han Solo a pirate tells me they didn’t even bother plagiarizing Wikipedia. (Yes, Lando called him that, but it was an affectionate insult.) This is signature significance for the institution’s standards, I’m afraid.
To be fair, Lucas himself has said he based his Empire on Nixon (as opposed to the Nazis or some other far more appropriate comparisons). This is just another example of my belief that leftist boomers got their brains broke by Nixon and have taken their rage out on every Republican politician since.
Nevertheless, the sign is still obnoxious because the Empire had replaced a long-standing Republic. The movie was about freedom fighters trying to topple the Empire, not about a fledgling Republic that didn’t exist anymore. The attempt to draw a comparison to the USA is a blatantly flawed argument.
What was behind Lucas’s inspiration is irrelevant to the ultimate creation’s form and meaning, however. It’s a catalyst. Paul and John always had stories about what made them write a particular Beatles song, and in most cases, I hear the song and think, “Huh? They got THAT out of THAT?”
While I do agree that art can be interpreted differently than what the artist intended, I guess my point is that there is a narrative that has been going on for 50 years which informs the actions of leftists from that generation and has influenced the beliefs of younger generations.
This amalgamation of boomer leftists and their progeny cannot see past the lens of hate for Republicans. It haunts their days and nights that conservatives are allowed to exist and walk among us, much less run government and other institutions.
The Smithsonian, like all other run-by-progressives organizations, perpetuates the narrative that Nixon was an evil dark figure who threatened our fledgling Republic and, by extension, so do all Republicans.
No doubt Lucas believes that and approves.
My point is that I don’t care what Lucas believes (or does) as long as his art entertains and stimulates. Wagner, you know. Chaplin. Robert DeNiro. Cecil B. DeMille. Sinatra. Cosby.
Oh…Nixon was a talented, patriotic, insecure and tragic figure who let the Left’s relentlessly unfair treatment of him turn him paranoid, leading to Watergate. He was an effective President, but was pushed into unforgivable behavior; he was not “evil” by any fair standard. His exit quote about how “hate destroys you” was about himself.
No question about it.
The left doesn’t see it that way. That’s why the Smithsonian thinks the exhibit is appropriate.
I always thought Lucas said the inspiration for the franchise came to him in a dream.
Yet another thing about which I’m wrong…
He could have had a dream about Nixon!
I often think the main problem with our society is that we have so many people who are too soft and weak to be useful for ditch-digging, but to spare their feelings, we tell them instead that they’re too brilliant to be wasted on ditch-digging.
Ha! Brilliant!