Maxine Joselow and Lisa Friedman, The New York Times; Trump Told Park Workers to Report Displays That ‘Disparage’ Americans. Here’s What They Flagged.
[Kip Currier: Trump's order directing National Park Service (NPS) staff to flag historical signs that "inappropriately disparage Americans" is contemptible and reads like a dystopian plot point befitting Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. It's also contrary to the advancement of knowledge and rigorous historical inquiry.
As a lifelong aficionado of the stunning diversity of America's national parks, I also find this directive deeply offensive because it seeks to sanitize and censor the complexity of U.S history: solely to satisfy one American's monarchical sense of what is and is not "appropriate". That is inherently un-American.
Thank goodness, then, that a heroic superteam of librarians, historians, and others are mobilizing right now to safeguard records of American history from erasure and expurgation. Until the day that fulsome, tangled, sobering, uplifting historical record -- our individual and collective history and legacy -- can be restored, appreciated, and learned from in all of its imperfectness.]
[Excerpt]
"According to internal documents reviewed by The New York Times, employees of the National Park Service have flagged descriptions and displays at scores of parks and historic sites for review in connection with President Trump’s directive to remove or cover up materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”
In an executive order in March, the president instructed the Park Service to review plaques, films and other materials presented to visitors at 433 sites around the country, with the aim of ensuring they emphasize the “progress of the American people” and the “grandeur of the American landscape.”
Employees had until last week to flag materials that could be changed or deleted, and the Trump administration said it would remove all “inappropriate” content by Sept. 17, according to the internal agency documents. The public also has been asked to submit potential changes.
In response, a coalition of librarians, historians and others organized through the University of Minnesota has launched a campaign called “Save Our Signs.” It is asking the public to take photos of existing content at national parks and upload it. The group is using those images to build a public archive before any materials may be altered. So far, it has more than 800 submissions."
