My daughter took me to Washington D.C. for Father’s Day on July 5. We visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, talked a lot and had a few meals together. That part was a good day and had nothing to do with your tax dollars.
The exhibits are another story. I wanted to see the one that had to do with human evolution since I have been listening to a lot of discussions on this topic. It didn’t take long to realize that is was more of a brainwashing center than a museum.
We visited an interactive exhibit that gave you a chance to pick the steps of natural selection and see how we as humans would adapt in the future. I only got as far as the first screen. The future was described: The world is so crowded that there is no room for cars. Then it asked a question with two choices: Which will you pick, the long legs like a stork, that are good for walking, or strong legs that are good for jumping like a kangaroo? What????
I developed issues.
First, the choices. I observed that if the world was that crowded you would not be moving so my choice would be, no legs. That was not one of the choices. I hate people trying to limit my choices so that I come up with the results they want. That isn’t in my play book.
Second, the assumptions. What is this nonsense about the world being too crowded for cars? Have these people never visited Montana or Nevada? For that matter had they ever driven between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore? There are still farms in the city limits of Baltimore. I would assume that whoever assumed the world would be that crowded had never been outside of the D.C. square. They certainly have not examined the demographics that say population growth is slowing around the world. They must think the entire world is like the unemployment office in their neighborhood.
I didn’t get any further than that. I am getting too old to waste my time. On the other wall was another display that looked like you got to make the choices that would make a species of animals go extinct. I skipped that too. I didn’t see politicians on the list.
I hope you have a good job so you can continue paying taxes for this kind of “education.”
homo unius libri
Beyond words.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I are having a discussion about whether government should be in the business of museums at all. I think the one on American History might be appropriate, the rest should be in the hands of private foundations.
DeleteGrace and peace.