July 16, 2026 • 20 mins
Woke takes over the Smithsonian!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We effing hate art.
It's one more thing I'm.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Thing.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
I'm a member of the met.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In New York.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Yeah, I bought a membership because it saved us, ultimately
saved me money for getting me and my two kids
in ah.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
And then the membership expires after year. I guess they
hope you won't remember and you'll automatically renew, which I
probably will, Oh my god, because I go to New York,
you know, once every ten years.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
The fact that software is now mostly subscription based makes
me nuts. I get why it's a good idea in
some ways, but I was signing up for one that
I want. Yeah, and it's good and I think I'll
use it, but it's like thirteen bucks a month now,
and I had the feeling as I clicked yes and
gave it my credit card info my estate eight is
(01:00):
going to have to stop payments to this ten years
after my death, right, jeezuz liked.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
My audible books, and every year I lose free Audible
credits because I don't before the deadline a bunch of books.
And I think it does that on purpose.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Like who designed that system? The Marquis de sade. I.
Now I have so many credits on audible that I
can't let them go right, But I.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Don't use them.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
I can't possibly use them fast enough if other too
many other things I need to listen to or like
to listen to, including music. Anyway, So my introduction about
hating art at the Art Museum brings us to the
new Domestic Policy Council report from the White House Saving
America's Story. How ideological capture at the Smithsonian Institution's National
Museum of American History erases our heritage.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And I'm complained about this last summer when I was
there with my kids, and I complained as soon as
I got back about every freaking plaque about everything either
brought up climate change or how Europeans drove off the
original people or whatever. It had some political bent racism,
every single plaque. It was so annoying, well observed.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
And just you know, for some of you who think
I'll just speak for myself, that eye joke ediom ted
critical of Donald j some of this stuff he does,
and says it's just dumb on its face, and I
don't like it, and I'll tell you so. But a
lot of what makes me insane about him is his
administration is doing such good things, and if they would
(02:39):
stop stepping on their chances, they could keep doing those
good things.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
And congratulations.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah. Hello.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
So here's the executive summary from this report on the
ideological capture at the Smithsonian, specifically the National Museum of
American History, and it's a little lengthy, but it's definitely
worth hearing.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Super informative. Get to it, Joe, you're saying, get to it.
I'm about to start right now.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Joe Getty, who delayed his presentation because of climate change.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
That's right, that's right. I'm sweaty. The Smithsonian Institution is.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
One of the nation's great civic treasures, a place where
parents bring their children, and tourists from across the country
and around the world come to learn about America. At
the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, visitors, we're just going.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
To refer to it as the museum. Henceforth, save my voice.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Visitors young and old should encounter the story of the
United States told with honesty, seriousness, and pride. In particular,
it should help the American people understand where America came from,
what makes it distinctive and why.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
It is worth preserving.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Now, before I go further, I want you to put
into your pocket what you always hear about, say Florida's
reforms of their history programs or whatever they're trying to
whitewash slavery. Keep that argument in mind as I read
what the Trump administration says. In making their case to
Congress in nineteen fifty three for funding, Smithsonian leadership argued
(04:10):
that one of the main reasons the museum should be
created is quote, to place before millions who visit the
nation's capital each year, a stimulating, permanent exposition that commemorates
our heritage of freedom and highlights the basic elements of
our way of life. In nineteen fifty five, then Smithsonian
Secretary Leon Carmichael testify to Congress that, if authorized, the
(04:32):
museum would tell the story of American national progress and
I quote, cement to America's progress for citizen and foreign
visitors alike. As he put it, continuing to quote, the
museum we envision is planned to instill in each citizen
a deepened faith in our country's destiny as champion of
individual dignity and enterprise. Equally, it is conceived to instill
(04:53):
in each foreign minister, I'm sorry, foreign visitor, admiration and
respect for our ever expanding social and technol life logical horizons.
Two months later, Congress funded it.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Well, having been there a year ago, I can tell
you currently, if you read the plaques, it seems that
it's designed to convince you humans are bad. Males are
even worse, as far as the humans an American particular,
as a collection of humans is awful.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Right So, Then, in nineteen sixty four, the director of
the US National Museum noted at the museum's opening that
the new museum was intended quote to awaken in citizen
and foreigner alike, a clear understanding of the inspiring story
of the United States, its origin, struggles, development, traditions, and strength.
(05:40):
One curator, who worked at the museum for nearly four
decades noted the museum's founding goal was more than simply
to increase and diffuse general knowledge. The museum was intended
to be quote proudly patriotic and in fact, At the
dedication ceremony in nineteen sixty four, President Johnson explained his
hope and belief that the museum's quote iconic artifacts should
(06:02):
be used to foster patriotism. He stated, I would hope
that there will come to this building the children of
the nation, For here is recorded, as William Faulkner expressed it,
the agony and the sweat of the human spirit, the
victory of freedom and genius of our country. Here young
children see with their own eyes, yes, even to touch
with their own hands, the ripe fruit of America's historical harvest,
(06:25):
Whitney's cotton, gin Singer sewing machine. Goes to give a
bunch of different examples. They're all here a part of
this treasure house of our inheritance. The more we understand
the meaning of the past, the more we appreciate the
winning of the future, which is the flip side of
the coin that Orwell.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Was always warning us about.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
They steal your history, so you don't know who you
are anymore, then they can make you whoever they want
you to be.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
You go ahead and say we had stuff, Johnson said,
and be a democratic president now.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah, yeah, Johnson said. If this museum did nothing more
than illuminate our heritage so that others could see a
little better our legacy, however so small, the glimpse it
will fulfill the noble purpose. And this report by the
Domestic Policy Council, they write, demonstrates the fact that if
I could get a new pair of.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Pants, well, the zippy has cleared out of a bunghole.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
A lot appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Right, exactly, you know, a little a little more room, right,
A couple of a two inches down there.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Greatest audio ever, it's on YouTube. Check it out, all right.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So getting back to the report, the report demonstrates that
the museum fails in the basic task of illuminating our heritage.
Our central finding, to Jack's point, is not that the
museum is simply added to overlooked stories, corrected perceived errors,
or broadened its historical scope. Rather, it is that the
museum leadership has explicitly adopted an ideological framework that no
(07:45):
longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance
to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument
to divide, dispirit and discourage our citizens.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Ah, that's that's a I like the dispirit and discourage.
My son was really disappointed, knows, he got dispirited and
discouraged reading that stuff, because who gets an end? Well,
unless I guess you're a Marxist who hates the country,
who gets any enjoyment out of.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Reading about how we're so awful plaque after plaque. As
this report shows confirmed in the words of museum leadership,
this ideological capture has moved the museum's mission away from
straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism
that seeks to transform our country. That is one hundred
percent true. That shift from history to activism is clearly
(08:32):
documented in this report, and Antheo Haartig, the museum's director
since twenty nineteen, has explicitly stated that she sees history
as a quote prime tool of social justice and one
of her roles as connecting quote research and scholarship to
activism and advocacy. Hardigg is also stated that quote we
(08:52):
work to reframe the traditional celebratory narrative of US history
for visitors. She claims to have had a personal head
start say one again, she hopes to reframe what the
traditional celebratory narrative of history visitors want. That what country
would want to have a celebratory tone to their history? Wow?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Right?
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Then she goes on about the cushions of whiteness and
the pillows of the Bourgeoise.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Oh, you gotta be kidding.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
This is the director.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Wow, she believes this is straight out of critical theory.
By the way, what I'm about to say, straight out
of you know, that Rogue's gallery of Frenchmen who developed
critical theory in the sixties.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Hertzig believed of Cato and Jacques Cousteau.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And the rest of them.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Hertig believes the museum profession has to quote, figure out
how we're going to problematize the two hundred and fiftieth
anniversary of the signing of the Declaration in twenty twenty six,
that loving America is very complicated.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
You made these quotes up.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I did not say.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
How in the hell did she get a point? I
mean the director who did that? Biden Obama? How did
she end up running the Smithsonian that.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Is twenty nineteen. Fine, so Obama, that is horrifying. Yeah,
oh my god. How many times did I shout during
the campaign He's not a Muslim, He's a socialist, say attention.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
You know. You know what disturbs me about this is
that she doesn't feel that she needs to couch it
in gentler language or hide this at all, she's willing
to just stay out stayed out loud. We need to
take the two hundred and fiftieth birthday of this country
and make sure people aren't feeling too good about it.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Right, Yeah, that's our objective.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
A little more of her own words, the objects in
the museum's collection should be used to move attention away
from an Anglo centric focus on the American founding, because
to achieve from Marxism anyway. At the heart of our concern,
writes the report is a simple question, what should a
National Museum of America History do? Now I'm going to
(11:02):
that argument. They want a whitewash history, pretend like slavery
never existed. Here's the actual report. Our conviction, like that
of Secretary Carmichael, Director Kellogg, and President Johnson, is that
such a museum should tell the American story clearly and fairly.
It should explain the rise of the original Thirteen Colonies,
the struggle for independence, the principles of the Declaration of
(11:24):
Independence and the US Constitution, and the role these documents
have played in securing Americans' most basic freedoms. It should
document and share the achievements and failures of the nation
and the extraordinary men and women of every color and
creed who shaped its course. It should tell the truth,
including the nation's mistakes and injustices, but it should do
so within a coherent account of a people striving, often imperfectly,
(11:48):
but more often nobly, to live up to our founding
principles of liberty and equality under a republican form of government.
It should especially teach the history of an American nation
that is worthy of our affection and worth passing all
to future generations.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Yeah, I've moved a lot on the whole. We need to,
you know, describe our faults. You don't want to erase
that stuff, obviously, but there's no need to lean on
them constantly, right, you know? I always use the example
of the mayor your fiftieth wedding anniversary. You're gonna stand
(12:24):
up there and just rehash the three worst things your
husband said or did over the last fifty years, just constantly.
Why what is your goal? Here? Is your goal to
dissolve the marriage and tear it down and destroy it?
Or in the case of that museum gal, the answer
is yes, well, right, the only reason you would at
(12:44):
your fiftieth wedding anniversary just hammer him over and over
again about the three worst things he ever did would
be if you want to end it, if you wanted
to continue it and think it's a good thing. No, right,
you might not even bring it up at all because
you both know what it. Of course, you would both
know it was bad, and there's no need to discuss
it again. So I'm not where I used to be
(13:06):
on the We need to make sure we teach the
bad stuff. Why you you don't have time to get
around to the good stuff?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Well, I think it depends on the context. If you're
talking about American history, you can touch on that stuff.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
But the difference is different than focus on.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Well right exactly.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
The difference is that these Marxists view the United States
as an evil country that's occasionally accidentally done good, as
opposed to what is clearly true. That's the opposite, and
so it's a question of how you present it.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
I'll give you the example. I don't remember if you
were here when I told this story or not. The
only thing my fourteen year old learned in school about
capitalism was that in the early twentieth century, we had
lots of kids in the factories, and they used children
for labor that's it only a negative thing about capitalism.
Did that happen?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Is that a negative?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Should it be? I don't even know if it's worth mentioning. Well,
it's not worth mentioning if you don't have time for
the Capitalism has raised more people out of poverty than
any other system in the history of the world. If
you can throw all that you got time left over,
feel free to get into kids in the factories for
a blink of an eye.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Right, I'm about to quote Martin Luther King Junior. It'd
be like, tell me about MLK, Dad. He was adulteress,
He had sex with a bunch of different women.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Hung around with a lot of communists.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Right, Hey, learned a skill. That's all you needed those
child labors. That's right.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Tough enoughm ump, So let me finish up the report.
Any proper telling of American history should, as the Reverend
King noted that quote, the goal of America is freedom
and bring our nation back to those great wells of
democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in
their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
That is a direct quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.
(14:54):
According to the findings from our months long investigation, that
is no longer what visitors encounter. Instead, the museum confront
visitors with materials intended to undermine faith in the American
institutions and long standing shared ideals of the American people.
As this report shows, the Museum purposely presents America as
a problematic country, irredeemably conceived, founded by deeply flawed men,
(15:15):
and still operating today as an instrument of systemic racism
and oppression. In the Museum's current telling, the country is
above all defined by white supremacy, slavery, conquest, exclusion, hierarchy, racism, xenophobia, misogyny,
and systemic injustice. The report identifies a broad pattern. The
founders are minimized, if not entirely excluded, Traditional patriotic narratives
(15:38):
are treated with suspicion, if not outright contempt, and the
basic symbols and stories that once helped unify Americans are
presented not as reasons for gratitude and inspiration, but as
objects to be inherently questioned, dismantled, problematized, and reinterpreted to
achieve ideological ends. To the extent that there is a
story told at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
(16:00):
It is not one of quote the victory of freedom
and genius of our country, but one of regret, tragedy,
and shame.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Yeah, I have a little hope that this is going
to get turned around. I know they're working at it,
but there's a lot of pushback, and then if it
doesn't get done in the next two years, this all
rooted out of this national parks and museums and everything
like that. A democratic president's not going to do it,
and I'm not even sure a lot of Republican presidents
will think that's a fight they want to get into.
(16:28):
And then you get news coverage like this, which is
true on its face, but I think because it's got
Trump's name in it suggests something. This was just the
other day NBC News. Current and former members of the
Smithsonian Board of Regents tell NBC News they're anticipating this
is not the end of the White House pressure campaign,
which is a prejudicial term pressure camp Sure pressure campaign
(16:50):
to reshape the museum's presentations, which has been a focus
in Trump's second term. Now, that is not a lie,
that is true what they just said, but hinting using
Trump's name and pressure campaign, and he's doing something untoward
as opposed to something really really untoward already.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Happened, right right, sickening, horrifying, indefensible, and we.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Let it happen. And it's just like everybody cherished freedom
in America, and it's.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Being treated like all the other examples of this. We
point out they get porn in the library. Then when
you try to get porn out, they call you the
book banner.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Right right, Hey, for what it's worth, just for fun,
what it would take to print this?
Speaker 2 (17:33):
There it is.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
It's one hundred and sixty two pages, this report. I'm
sure it's thorough and documents everything beautifully, but well, the
executive summary is good enough.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I can't believe that's how That's how far down the
road it is that she feels she can be that
blatant about No, the goal of the museum is to
make people realize this is a bad country.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Wow. In fact, she believes that's the goal of all museums.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Wild And so then there's there's Marxists who want to
tear down the country. But then there's all the people
that enjoy that feeling for some reason. And that's the
people I think that are mentally ill. There's some mental
illness you've got that wants to feel bad about your
country and people in culture.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's pathetic. That's what I think. Those people are an embarrassment.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
They wear their self hatred as a desperate plea for
somebody to.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Like them or think they're enlightened. It's just it's pathetic.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah, I'm telling you it's not subtle. If you walk
around the museum about the fourth plaque you read, you think,
all right, I see what's going on here.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
You know, there are days I wish we had an
enormous audience and not for financial wealth.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Yeah, I know, I'd have a yacht. How about you, Michael, yacht?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Maybe a yacht. Maybe maybe we'll have a yacht for
those days. You want a yacht.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Better car?
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Yeah, they better car there. You got millions and millions
of dollars. You need to think bigger, Michael. You've had
that donut on your right rear wheel for how long?
Speaker 3 (19:07):
I mean?
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yeah? And duct tape come on, duct tape and plastic
sheeting and not a good luck.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Get a window, Get a.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Window, black plastic sheeting, duct taped over the window. That's
when things are not going well, if I could.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Do something.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
To draw Americans attention to this and how bad it's gotten, man,
I would do about anything.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I'm not going to set myself on fire.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
On the steps of the Natural, not the Natural than
the National History Museum. But man, this just angers me
and the fact that we let it go that far,
because these people use moral language and mischaracterize what they're doing,
and normal, good moral people think, yeah, we should definitely
(19:53):
tell the history of slavery. We can't hide that from people,
and the museum Gal says thank you, because that's all
we want to do, and then she goes all sixteen
nineteen project on the freaking National History Museum.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
God, I hate these people. I hate them so bad.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Now that's hate speech.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
That is hate speech.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Sometimes you just got to think of something that makes
you feel good, like a good pair of pants. But
you see, if you can't leave me about it, an
age from the ware to zipperate and uh around under my.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Back of my bunghole Lyndon B.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Johnson, Ladies and gentlemen, well I guess that's it.
Here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We effing hate art.
It's one more thing I'm.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Thing.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
I'm a member of the met.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In New York.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Yeah, I bought a membership because it saved us, ultimately
saved me money for getting me and my two kids
in ah.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
And then the membership expires after year. I guess they
hope you won't remember and you'll automatically renew, which I
probably will, Oh my god, because I go to New York,
you know, once every ten years.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
The fact that software is now mostly subscription based makes
me nuts. I get why it's a good idea in
some ways, but I was signing up for one that
I want. Yeah, and it's good and I think I'll
use it, but it's like thirteen bucks a month now,
and I had the feeling as I clicked yes and
gave it my credit card info my estate eight is
(01:00):
going to have to stop payments to this ten years
after my death, right, jeezuz liked.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
My audible books, and every year I lose free Audible
credits because I don't before the deadline a bunch of books.
And I think it does that on purpose.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Like who designed that system? The Marquis de sade. I.
Now I have so many credits on audible that I
can't let them go right, But I.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Don't use them.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
I can't possibly use them fast enough if other too
many other things I need to listen to or like
to listen to, including music. Anyway, So my introduction about
hating art at the Art Museum brings us to the
new Domestic Policy Council report from the White House Saving
America's Story. How ideological capture at the Smithsonian Institution's National
Museum of American History erases our heritage.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
And I'm complained about this last summer when I was
there with my kids, and I complained as soon as
I got back about every freaking plaque about everything either
brought up climate change or how Europeans drove off the
original people or whatever. It had some political bent racism,
every single plaque. It was so annoying, well observed.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
And just you know, for some of you who think
I'll just speak for myself, that eye joke ediom ted
critical of Donald j some of this stuff he does,
and says it's just dumb on its face, and I
don't like it, and I'll tell you so. But a
lot of what makes me insane about him is his
administration is doing such good things, and if they would
(02:39):
stop stepping on their chances, they could keep doing those
good things.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
And congratulations.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah. Hello.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
So here's the executive summary from this report on the
ideological capture at the Smithsonian, specifically the National Museum of
American History, and it's a little lengthy, but it's definitely
worth hearing.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Super informative. Get to it, Joe, you're saying, get to it.
I'm about to start right now.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Joe Getty, who delayed his presentation because of climate change.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
That's right, that's right. I'm sweaty. The Smithsonian Institution is.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
One of the nation's great civic treasures, a place where
parents bring their children, and tourists from across the country
and around the world come to learn about America. At
the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, visitors, we're just going.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
To refer to it as the museum. Henceforth, save my voice.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Visitors young and old should encounter the story of the
United States told with honesty, seriousness, and pride. In particular,
it should help the American people understand where America came from,
what makes it distinctive and why.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
It is worth preserving.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Now, before I go further, I want you to put
into your pocket what you always hear about, say Florida's
reforms of their history programs or whatever they're trying to
whitewash slavery. Keep that argument in mind as I read
what the Trump administration says. In making their case to
Congress in nineteen fifty three for funding, Smithsonian leadership argued
(04:10):
that one of the main reasons the museum should be
created is quote, to place before millions who visit the
nation's capital each year, a stimulating, permanent exposition that commemorates
our heritage of freedom and highlights the basic elements of
our way of life. In nineteen fifty five, then Smithsonian
Secretary Leon Carmichael testify to Congress that, if authorized, the
(04:32):
museum would tell the story of American national progress and
I quote, cement to America's progress for citizen and foreign
visitors alike. As he put it, continuing to quote, the
museum we envision is planned to instill in each citizen
a deepened faith in our country's destiny as champion of
individual dignity and enterprise. Equally, it is conceived to instill
(04:53):
in each foreign minister, I'm sorry, foreign visitor, admiration and
respect for our ever expanding social and technol life logical horizons.
Two months later, Congress funded it.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Well, having been there a year ago, I can tell
you currently, if you read the plaques, it seems that
it's designed to convince you humans are bad. Males are
even worse, as far as the humans an American particular,
as a collection of humans is awful.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Right So, Then, in nineteen sixty four, the director of
the US National Museum noted at the museum's opening that
the new museum was intended quote to awaken in citizen
and foreigner alike, a clear understanding of the inspiring story
of the United States, its origin, struggles, development, traditions, and strength.
(05:40):
One curator, who worked at the museum for nearly four
decades noted the museum's founding goal was more than simply
to increase and diffuse general knowledge. The museum was intended
to be quote proudly patriotic and in fact, At the
dedication ceremony in nineteen sixty four, President Johnson explained his
hope and belief that the museum's quote iconic artifacts should
(06:02):
be used to foster patriotism. He stated, I would hope
that there will come to this building the children of
the nation, For here is recorded, as William Faulkner expressed it,
the agony and the sweat of the human spirit, the
victory of freedom and genius of our country. Here young
children see with their own eyes, yes, even to touch
with their own hands, the ripe fruit of America's historical harvest,
(06:25):
Whitney's cotton, gin Singer sewing machine. Goes to give a
bunch of different examples. They're all here a part of
this treasure house of our inheritance. The more we understand
the meaning of the past, the more we appreciate the
winning of the future, which is the flip side of
the coin that Orwell.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Was always warning us about.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
They steal your history, so you don't know who you
are anymore, then they can make you whoever they want
you to be.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Anyway.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
You go ahead and say we had stuff, Johnson said,
and be a democratic president now.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Yeah, yeah, Johnson said. If this museum did nothing more
than illuminate our heritage so that others could see a
little better our legacy, however so small, the glimpse it
will fulfill the noble purpose. And this report by the
Domestic Policy Council, they write, demonstrates the fact that if
I could get a new pair of.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Pants, well, the zippy has cleared out of a bunghole.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
A lot appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Right, exactly, you know, a little a little more room, right,
A couple of a two inches down there.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Greatest audio ever, it's on YouTube. Check it out, all right.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So getting back to the report, the report demonstrates that
the museum fails in the basic task of illuminating our heritage.
Our central finding, to Jack's point, is not that the
museum is simply added to overlooked stories, corrected perceived errors,
or broadened its historical scope. Rather, it is that the
museum leadership has explicitly adopted an ideological framework that no
(07:45):
longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance
to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument
to divide, dispirit and discourage our citizens.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Ah, that's that's a I like the dispirit and discourage.
My son was really disappointed, knows, he got dispirited and
discouraged reading that stuff, because who gets an end? Well,
unless I guess you're a Marxist who hates the country,
who gets any enjoyment out of.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Reading about how we're so awful plaque after plaque. As
this report shows confirmed in the words of museum leadership,
this ideological capture has moved the museum's mission away from
straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism
that seeks to transform our country. That is one hundred
percent true. That shift from history to activism is clearly
(08:32):
documented in this report, and Antheo Haartig, the museum's director
since twenty nineteen, has explicitly stated that she sees history
as a quote prime tool of social justice and one
of her roles as connecting quote research and scholarship to
activism and advocacy. Hardigg is also stated that quote we
(08:52):
work to reframe the traditional celebratory narrative of US history
for visitors. She claims to have had a personal head
start say one again, she hopes to reframe what the
traditional celebratory narrative of history visitors want. That what country
would want to have a celebratory tone to their history? Wow?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Right?
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Then she goes on about the cushions of whiteness and
the pillows of the Bourgeoise.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Oh, you gotta be kidding.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
This is the director.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Wow, she believes this is straight out of critical theory.
By the way, what I'm about to say, straight out
of you know, that Rogue's gallery of Frenchmen who developed
critical theory in the sixties.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Hertzig believed of Cato and Jacques Cousteau.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And the rest of them.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Hertig believes the museum profession has to quote, figure out
how we're going to problematize the two hundred and fiftieth
anniversary of the signing of the Declaration in twenty twenty six,
that loving America is very complicated.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
You made these quotes up.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I did not say.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
How in the hell did she get a point? I
mean the director who did that? Biden Obama? How did
she end up running the Smithsonian that.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Is twenty nineteen. Fine, so Obama, that is horrifying. Yeah,
oh my god. How many times did I shout during
the campaign He's not a Muslim, He's a socialist, say attention.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
You know. You know what disturbs me about this is
that she doesn't feel that she needs to couch it
in gentler language or hide this at all, she's willing
to just stay out stayed out loud. We need to
take the two hundred and fiftieth birthday of this country
and make sure people aren't feeling too good about it.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Right, Yeah, that's our objective.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
A little more of her own words, the objects in
the museum's collection should be used to move attention away
from an Anglo centric focus on the American founding, because
to achieve from Marxism anyway. At the heart of our concern,
writes the report is a simple question, what should a
National Museum of America History do? Now I'm going to
(11:02):
that argument. They want a whitewash history, pretend like slavery
never existed. Here's the actual report. Our conviction, like that
of Secretary Carmichael, Director Kellogg, and President Johnson, is that
such a museum should tell the American story clearly and fairly.
It should explain the rise of the original Thirteen Colonies,
the struggle for independence, the principles of the Declaration of
(11:24):
Independence and the US Constitution, and the role these documents
have played in securing Americans' most basic freedoms. It should
document and share the achievements and failures of the nation
and the extraordinary men and women of every color and
creed who shaped its course. It should tell the truth,
including the nation's mistakes and injustices, but it should do
so within a coherent account of a people striving, often imperfectly,
(11:48):
but more often nobly, to live up to our founding
principles of liberty and equality under a republican form of government.
It should especially teach the history of an American nation
that is worthy of our affection and worth passing all
to future generations.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Yeah, I've moved a lot on the whole. We need to,
you know, describe our faults. You don't want to erase
that stuff, obviously, but there's no need to lean on
them constantly, right, you know? I always use the example
of the mayor your fiftieth wedding anniversary. You're gonna stand
(12:24):
up there and just rehash the three worst things your
husband said or did over the last fifty years, just constantly.
Why what is your goal? Here? Is your goal to
dissolve the marriage and tear it down and destroy it?
Or in the case of that museum gal, the answer
is yes, well, right, the only reason you would at
(12:44):
your fiftieth wedding anniversary just hammer him over and over
again about the three worst things he ever did would
be if you want to end it, if you wanted
to continue it and think it's a good thing. No, right,
you might not even bring it up at all because
you both know what it. Of course, you would both
know it was bad, and there's no need to discuss
it again. So I'm not where I used to be
(13:06):
on the We need to make sure we teach the
bad stuff. Why you you don't have time to get
around to the good stuff?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Well, I think it depends on the context. If you're
talking about American history, you can touch on that stuff.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
But the difference is different than focus on.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Well right exactly.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
The difference is that these Marxists view the United States
as an evil country that's occasionally accidentally done good, as
opposed to what is clearly true. That's the opposite, and
so it's a question of how you present it.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
I'll give you the example. I don't remember if you
were here when I told this story or not. The
only thing my fourteen year old learned in school about
capitalism was that in the early twentieth century, we had
lots of kids in the factories, and they used children
for labor that's it only a negative thing about capitalism.
Did that happen?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Is that a negative?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Should it be? I don't even know if it's worth mentioning. Well,
it's not worth mentioning if you don't have time for
the Capitalism has raised more people out of poverty than
any other system in the history of the world. If
you can throw all that you got time left over,
feel free to get into kids in the factories for
a blink of an eye.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Right, I'm about to quote Martin Luther King Junior. It'd
be like, tell me about MLK, Dad. He was adulteress,
He had sex with a bunch of different women.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Hung around with a lot of communists.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Right, Hey, learned a skill. That's all you needed those
child labors. That's right.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Tough enoughm ump, So let me finish up the report.
Any proper telling of American history should, as the Reverend
King noted that quote, the goal of America is freedom
and bring our nation back to those great wells of
democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in
their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
That is a direct quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.
(14:54):
According to the findings from our months long investigation, that
is no longer what visitors encounter. Instead, the museum confront
visitors with materials intended to undermine faith in the American
institutions and long standing shared ideals of the American people.
As this report shows, the Museum purposely presents America as
a problematic country, irredeemably conceived, founded by deeply flawed men,
(15:15):
and still operating today as an instrument of systemic racism
and oppression. In the Museum's current telling, the country is
above all defined by white supremacy, slavery, conquest, exclusion, hierarchy, racism, xenophobia, misogyny,
and systemic injustice. The report identifies a broad pattern. The
founders are minimized, if not entirely excluded, Traditional patriotic narratives
(15:38):
are treated with suspicion, if not outright contempt, and the
basic symbols and stories that once helped unify Americans are
presented not as reasons for gratitude and inspiration, but as
objects to be inherently questioned, dismantled, problematized, and reinterpreted to
achieve ideological ends. To the extent that there is a
story told at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
(16:00):
It is not one of quote the victory of freedom
and genius of our country, but one of regret, tragedy,
and shame.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Yeah, I have a little hope that this is going
to get turned around. I know they're working at it,
but there's a lot of pushback, and then if it
doesn't get done in the next two years, this all
rooted out of this national parks and museums and everything
like that. A democratic president's not going to do it,
and I'm not even sure a lot of Republican presidents
will think that's a fight they want to get into.
(16:28):
And then you get news coverage like this, which is
true on its face, but I think because it's got
Trump's name in it suggests something. This was just the
other day NBC News. Current and former members of the
Smithsonian Board of Regents tell NBC News they're anticipating this
is not the end of the White House pressure campaign,
which is a prejudicial term pressure camp Sure pressure campaign
(16:50):
to reshape the museum's presentations, which has been a focus
in Trump's second term. Now, that is not a lie,
that is true what they just said, but hinting using
Trump's name and pressure campaign, and he's doing something untoward
as opposed to something really really untoward already.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Happened, right right, sickening, horrifying, indefensible, and we.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Let it happen. And it's just like everybody cherished freedom
in America, and it's.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Being treated like all the other examples of this. We
point out they get porn in the library. Then when
you try to get porn out, they call you the
book banner.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Right right, Hey, for what it's worth, just for fun,
what it would take to print this?
Speaker 2 (17:33):
There it is.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
It's one hundred and sixty two pages, this report. I'm
sure it's thorough and documents everything beautifully, but well, the
executive summary is good enough.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I can't believe that's how That's how far down the
road it is that she feels she can be that
blatant about No, the goal of the museum is to
make people realize this is a bad country.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Wow. In fact, she believes that's the goal of all museums.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Wild And so then there's there's Marxists who want to
tear down the country. But then there's all the people
that enjoy that feeling for some reason. And that's the
people I think that are mentally ill. There's some mental
illness you've got that wants to feel bad about your
country and people in culture.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's pathetic. That's what I think. Those people are an embarrassment.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
They wear their self hatred as a desperate plea for
somebody to.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Like them or think they're enlightened. It's just it's pathetic.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah, I'm telling you it's not subtle. If you walk
around the museum about the fourth plaque you read, you think,
all right, I see what's going on here.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
You know, there are days I wish we had an
enormous audience and not for financial wealth.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Yeah, I know, I'd have a yacht. How about you, Michael, yacht?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Maybe a yacht. Maybe maybe we'll have a yacht for
those days. You want a yacht.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Better car?
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Yeah, they better car there. You got millions and millions
of dollars. You need to think bigger, Michael. You've had
that donut on your right rear wheel for how long?
Speaker 3 (19:07):
I mean?
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yeah? And duct tape come on, duct tape and plastic
sheeting and not a good luck.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Get a window, Get a.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Window, black plastic sheeting, duct taped over the window. That's
when things are not going well, if I could.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Do something.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
To draw Americans attention to this and how bad it's gotten, man,
I would do about anything.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I'm not going to set myself on fire.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
On the steps of the Natural, not the Natural than
the National History Museum. But man, this just angers me
and the fact that we let it go that far,
because these people use moral language and mischaracterize what they're doing,
and normal, good moral people think, yeah, we should definitely
(19:53):
tell the history of slavery. We can't hide that from people,
and the museum Gal says thank you, because that's all
we want to do, and then she goes all sixteen
nineteen project on the freaking National History Museum.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
God, I hate these people. I hate them so bad.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Now that's hate speech.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
That is hate speech.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Sometimes you just got to think of something that makes
you feel good, like a good pair of pants. But
you see, if you can't leave me about it, an
age from the ware to zipperate and uh around under my.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Back of my bunghole Lyndon B.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Johnson, Ladies and gentlemen, well I guess that's it.
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Joe Getty
Jack Armstrong
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