There are small moments in the downward trajectory of our democracy that warrant more attention than they get in the flood of news we all attempt to ingest every day.
In July, when it was revealed that the Smithsonian had removed references to President Trump’s past impeachments from an exhibit about the American presidency in the American History Museum, it stood out as one such moment. The Smithsonian – keeper, in many ways, of our national history – said that for reasons of consistency, they had changed the entire exhibit back to how it looked in 2008, removing a temporary sign that had addressed the Trump impeachments. The Washington Post reported that someone with knowledge of the process said the decision was part of a White House-directed “content review” the Smithsonian has been undertaking. In other words, as a result of political pressure, history was erased.
After the Post article was published, the Smithsonian said it would restore the information and that a future exhibit would address all presidential impeachments. The Smithsonian attempted to address concerns of censorship by saying, “We were not asked by any administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit.” But in fact, that’s precisely how authoritarianism works – the regime makes clear its preferences, and that there will be consequences if they aren’t adhered to. And institutions and individuals comply, without having to be asked.
The day after the news broke about the Smithsonian, Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, because he didn’t like the negative jobs report the Bureau released. Firing the person in charge of producing reliable data because you don’t like the facts is textbook autocratic behavior, from the Soviet Union under Stalin to Erdogan’s Turkey. By sending the message that negative data will be met with a purge, Trump is establishing that the government should tweak information to his liking. And that is how we can lose our grasp on the truth about both the past and the present.
Americans are now witnessing firsthand how autocrats use that disregard for the truth to claim excessive powers. Last week, Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington, D.C. in the name of responding to an emergency that doesn’t exist. Crime rates in D.C. are only dropping, in contrast to the president’s claims, but this maneuver is not only about a show of military force; it is also about exploiting a falsehood to chill dissent and protest in the nation’s capitol.
Also last week, the administration doubled down on its attempts to align the historical narrative with its preferred vision. In a letter to Lonnie Bunch III, head of the Smithsonian Institute, the White House announced it would lead a review of Smithsonian museums and exhibits, including those planned for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next year, and calling on museums to remove “divisive or ideologically driven language.” Trump explained this week that in his view, the Smithsonian focuses too much on “how bad slavery was” and said he instructed his lawyers to “go through the Museums” in the same process they’ve done with colleges and universities.
Efforts to rewrite history and silence dissent are a betrayal of our democratic traditions. The very thing that sets even a flawed democracy apart from an autocratic state is its willingness to accept critique, and to examine honestly its failings as well as its triumphs. When we are afraid to speak the truth about the past or the present, we are sacrificing the possibility of a better future. The only antidote is to refuse to be silent.
