National Portrait Gallery | Be a Seed for Change

So, this popped up … Things that should not be forgotten and btw he is now a former Sec of the Smithsonian but has Emeritus status at the GA Institue of Technology! ugh

The article below is revelant though mr Keegan posted it in 2011 …

I just posted the following piece to The Huffington Post and thought you might be interested:

The Battle over the Smithsonian and the Right’s New Culture Wars

This week, protesters marched on the National Mall to demand that the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents dismiss Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough for his role in removing a work of art from one of the institution’s museums and his continual bungling of the institution’s response in the two months since its removal. Although one Smithsonian regent openly implied that removing the art was a mistake, the board ultimately declined to rebuke Clough, effectively closing the door on the possibility of undoing the damage done by the censorship. But the bigger fight that the Smithsonian debate represented–over the efforts of a small and vocal group on the Right to define American values for us all–is just beginning.

As the newly empowered House GOP gears up to start culture wars on issues from reproductive rights for women to religious freedom for American Muslims, there’s an important lesson to be learned from what happened this winter at the Smithsonian. Institutions and individuals will continue to come under attack from the Right’s powerful extremist-to-media-to-politician echo chamber. But, as the Smithsonian’s experience showed once again, there is little to be gained by caving in to this loud and usually dishonest bullying. Clough’s attempt at compromise–instantly removing a work of art from an important exhibit–only drew louder threats to censor the exhibit as a whole, while causing some of the Smithsonian’s strongest supporters to lose trust in the institution. Despite what most might hope, the Right is not going to stop its culture war campaigns anytime soon. The only thing the rest of us can do is aggressively tell the truth, unapologetically stand on principle, and refuse to back down.

In a report last year, People For the American Way profiled what we call “the new McCarthyism“–a type of demagoguery that hinges on the idea that America and all it stands for is being destroyed by enemies within. This new McCarthyism–in full display in the paranoid tirades of Glenn Beck, in the widespread fear that President Obama is an un-American imposter–has a new foothold in Congress, where Rep. Peter King plans to hold hearings investigating American Muslims and prominent lawmakers spread myths about immigrant “anchor babies” in order to replace real efforts at immigration reform with unfounded fears about immigrants. The House GOP’s fit over “anti-Christian” and -gasp!–gay art in the Smithsonian was a small but powerful example of this dynamic in action. GOP leaders, encouraged by far-right activists, created a narrow definition of what it means to be truly American–straight and a certain type of Christian–and in doing so framed the rest of us as impostors.

The Right’s so-called “culture wars” are more than just a sideline distraction–even manufactured controversies can do real harm. The Smithsonian controversy was a flashy and media-ready story, but it set the tone for the many manufactured battles to come. In coming months, we must be ready to step up and make just as strong a defense of women’s health organizations; of American Muslims; of gays and lesbians; of judicial nominees; of science and history; and yes, of our national museums. Not all of these issues are as exciting and easily categorized as that of censorship in our nation’s capital. But it will be just as important that we all stand up to attempts to narrow the definition of what it means to be American.

It’s disappointing that the Smithsonian’s secretary and board were so quick to give in to the Right’s demagoguery and bluster. Clough’s succumbing to censorship left a stain on his record at the head of the Smithsonian and unfortunately seems to have damaged the credibility of the institution. Cloughs’s two months of virtual silence followed by the board’s effective endorsement of his action have only made it worse. But the Smithsonian’s decision is not the final word on the power of the Right’s new-found zeal for culture wars. Instead, it’s a reminder of how important it is to stand up to those who, in attempting to root out an imaginary enemy within, threaten the vibrant diversity and individual liberties of our democracy.

By The WaY – more information on Mr Clough

Gerald Wayne Clough is President Emeritus of the Georgia Institute of Technology and former Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. A graduate of Georgia Tech in civil engineering, he was the first alumnus to serve as President of the Institute

In this era of Covid19 , Racist Hate and Death to unarmed Black Brown men and Women …

We are the Change we seek- Obama

Nativegrl77

I urge you to end the hostile rhetoric and respect America’s standards of honoring free speech and creative expression. As the leaders of incoming majority of the House of Representatives in the coming year, your job should be to work with the Senate and the White House to advance policies which will help Americans, not to chase political straw men at the behest of the Far Right.

Incoming House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor have thrown the weight of government into efforts by the Religious Right to shut down an acclaimed art exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. The Hide/Seek exhibit explores evolving expressions of sexuality in art. The Religious Right — in this instance led by the always-hysterical Bill Donohue and his fringe Catholic League — and its allies in Congress have been quick to try to whip their base into a fervor over themes they didn’t even try to understand before condemning as “anti-Christian.”

Cantor ludicrously said the exhibit is an intentional attempt to offend Christians during the Christmas season. And Boehner, Cantor and other right-wing leaders have attacked the exhibit as a questionable use of taxpayer money, even though Smithsonian exhibits — including this one — are privately funded. They are now threatening to go after Smithsonian public funding and even to launch investigations into Smithsonian exhibits.

Tell the House Republican Leadership to stay out of the censorship game and to keep their hands off Smithsonian funding.

After you sign the petition to Reps. Boehner and Cantor, you’ll be asked to call the National Portrait Gallery and urge administrators there to stand strong against the Right in defense of free expression.

The Gallery was quick to cave on one piece of the Hide/Seek exhibit which was singled out by the Right: a video which included an 11-second segment depicting a Crucifix with ants crawling on it, a statement about the suffering of AIDS victims at the time the video was produced. The video, by the artist David Wojnarowicz, who himself died of AIDS in 1992, had been on display for a month without a single complaint from any museum attendees. The only complaints the Portrait Gallery received about the video or any parts of the exhibit were from Religious Right activists from around the country who had not actually seen the art. In a twist of sad irony, these activists were successful in getting the video taken down exactly one day before World AIDS Day. Hide/Seek is a courageous exhibit, but it’s an outrage that the Portrait Gallery would not show equal courage in defending the exhibit in its entirety against right-wing censorship.

We need to speak up to make sure that there are no more capitulations by the Smithsonian, and to make sure that Republican congressional leaders don’t get away with their ridiculous political pandering to the radical Religious Right.

Please add your voice to the growing chorus of Americans who are speaking out against this latest right-wing attack.

Reps. Boehner and Cantor, along with virtually ever other congressional Republican leader, are working hard to block all business on Capitol Hill… holding the country hostage by insisting that no much-needed measures be passed until the Bush tax cuts are extended for the richest 2% of Americans… and all the while attacking the president for not doing enough to create jobs. Yet THIS is how they want to spend their time and taxpayer dollars — kowtowing to right-wing zealots like Bill Donohue by attacking the arts and investigating museums.

Shame on them.

Sincerely,