Rejecting patriotism and problematizing the American founding | Hour 1

What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepekclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, write to your smartphone or tablet, and again, thank you so much for your support. All Right, a lot to get to today, but I want to start with a story and a report, very lengthy report, one hundred and sixty page report into the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution. This report was actually issued before I went away on vacation last week, but I've had it ready to go ever since. But then, you know, people keep breaking stuff, and so I just kept pushing it off, pushing off. Then I went on vacation, people broke even more stuff. And so here I am because at some point this story shall expire. But lucky for me, Congress held a hearing and talked about this very topic yesterday, so I get to revive it as if it's brand new. So if you haven't heard about this report. It was called Saving America's Story subtitle how ideological capture at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History erases our Heritage. This report was prepared by the Domestic Policy Council, and it was done following President Trump's March twenty seventh, twenty twenty six executive Order, as well as the ongoing review of the Smithsonian Institution. All right, so I'm going to use an abbreviation called n m a H or NAMHA or no Namah NAMAH. That's it stands for National Museum of American History, the NAMAH, so the report says. In making their case to Congress in nineteen fifty three, Smithsonian leadership argued that one of the main reasons NAMAH 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. End quote. Okay, So that's what you might call or consider a bit of a mission statement, right or I don't know. In the corporate world, there are different Is a vision statement different than a mission statement? But either way, like this should be the thing that focuses the operation. Right. The point here is to create a stimulating, permanent exposition that commemorates our heritage of freedom and highlights the basic elements of our way of life. Right, Okay, how has the Smithsonian been doing recently? Well? Not good? Not good, room for improvement. At the time when it was created, the then director of the US National Museum, a man with a very strong name of Remington Kellogg, noted at the museum's opening in nineteen sixty four that the new museum was intended to awaken, in citizen and foreigner alike, a clear understanding of the inspiring story of the United States, its origins, its struggles, development, traditions strength. One curator, who worked at the museum for nearly four decades before retiring in twenty sixteen, noted that the museum's founding goal quote, was more than simply the increase and diffusion of general knowledge. Rather, it was intended to be proudly patriotic. One would think so otherwise, like why are you doing a museum? Right? Why would you create a museum that is supposed to commemorate our heritage of freedom? If it's not going to be proudly patriotic. Right, If you hate the country, why are you creating a museum to it? Right? That would be like putting Trump in charge of building Obama's library, Although he probably would have. He probably would have done a better job on the building itself, because that building is just atrocious. It definitely would have more gold, right, you know that it would have way more gold fixtures and highlights and stuff. Speaking during the museum's dedication ceremony January nineteen sixty four, President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was terrible, explained his hope and belief that the museum's iconic artifacts should be used to foster patriotism. See you're sensing a theme here, right, that when we created this thing, this National Museum of American History, that there was an idea, there was a vision to it. This report from the Domestic Policy Council demonstrates that NAMAH fails in the basic task of illuminating our heritage. Our central finding, it says, is not that the museum has simply added overlooked stories, corrected perceived errors, or broadened its historical scope. Rather, it is that museum leadership has explicitly adopted an ideological framework that no 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. I've been using a word for the last few years. You may have heard me say. It comes from the Soviets, demoralization. That's the ideological framework that has captured the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian. 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 shift from history to activism is clearly documented in this report. The director of the NAMAH a woman by the name of Anthea Hartig. She's been the director there since twenty nineteen, and she has explicitly stated that she sees history as quote a prime tool of social justice, and one of her roles is connecting research and scholarship to activism and advocacy. Surprise, surprise, Hertig has also stated that we work to reframe the traditional celebratory narrative of US history for visitors. I'm going to reframe the traditionally celebratory narrative. So in other words, in the past, yes, the narrative one was one of celebrating America and the things that it has done and the people from whence it came. Right, we want to shift all that, you might say, fundamentally transform it. She claims to have had a personal head start quote propped up as I was and I am by the cushions of whiteness and the pillows of the bourgeoisie. So she's recognizing her own privilege, her own bouginess. Partig 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 of Independence. So this was like this was an intentional goal, Like we have to figure out how we're going to crap all over the two hundred fiftieth anniversary. How are we going to do this? We got to figure this out. We're the museum of American History. We got to problematize it, make it a problem. She also said loving America is very complicated and that objects in the museum's collection should be used to move attention away from Anglo centric focus on the American founding. These are not the words of an objective historian, but rather those of an activist advancing an ideological agenda contradictory to the museum's founding purpose of fostering patriotism. And that's true, that is accurate. And I've actually covered this for a while now since peak woke. Right, do you remember the aspects and assumptions of whiteness, the graphic that was given out at the Smithsonian talking about white culture and how like being punctual is a sign of white supremacy. All right? For over a year now, you've heard me talking about Create a Video. Great local company in mint Hill that has helped more than two million families preserve their memories by turning old photos, DHS tapes, film reels and slides into lasting keepsakes. Now creative videos helping families and groups create brand new memories while they're traveling. Introducing group travel videos perfect for family reunions, church mission trips, group vacations, destination weddings, student trips, senior adult groups, sports teams. I mean, really, any gathering of people that you care about, that's traveling together. 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You can email Katie Katie at group travel videos dot com. Group travel videos from old memories to new adventures, preserving life's moments for a lifetime. So here is the chart that the Smithsonian published a couple of years ago, now I want to say it's probably about five years, six years ago, about white culture in the United States. It's part of a toolkit that they offered. White dominant culture or whiteness refers to the ways that white people and their tradition, attitudes, and ways of life have been normalized over time and are now considered standard practices in the United States. Okay, Like, could that be could that be related to the fact that white people have been the majority in America for a long time, like a really long time. So might that have some like wouldn't that be Like take a look at Japan for example, right would you say that, I don't know, there's a certain Japanese culture. And that like. I mean, I don't know, like that that would be normalized Japanese people would be normalized in the Japanese culture. I kind of feel like anyway, and since white people still hold most of the institutional power in America, we have all internalized some aspects of white culture, including people of color. Here are the examples, and they have they have like sub examples in each of these categories. This is whiteness, rugged individualism, family structure, emphasis, on the scientific method, history, just history, yeah, Protestant work, ethic, future orientation, esthetics, holidays, justice, competition and communication. Okay, so under rugged individu yeah, rugged individualism. Here are the things that are symptoms, factors, if you will, of the the whiteness that the individual is the primary unit. Yes, well, in a society that guarantees individual rights, that recognizes the inherent value of the individual and non not say the state, the government. Right, you don't. You don't subsume the rights of the individual to another entity because you have inherent value and you have inherent rights and alienable rights. Seems kind of foundational, but what do I know? Also, whiteness means self reliance, independence, and autonomy. It's highly valued and rewarded. Individuals assumed to be in control of their environment. You see. Yeah, I don't know if that's whiteness. Karl Marx was white, uh, and he had a completely different take on that. But you are in charge of your own destiny. You can, you can forge a path. This is the American dream that you are you know, unburdened, unshackled by government by a king. Right, you are free to pursue your interest. Yes, you are free to pursue a career, riches a new invention, whatever. Under the family structure, the nuclear family, father, mother, two point three children is the ideal social unit. I don't know if two point three is ideal, man, I don't know which third of the kid you're getting. Is it like their head and like just like up to the up to like the rib cage or something. Is it just the feet and the legs or something. I don't know, but yes, the nuclear family. See once again, if this sounds at all like any of the topics I've been covering for quite some time, all under a general heading of Marxism, well you would be correct, because that's what this is. That's what all of this is. Code language four. Right. They just find different ways to say the same thing that they have been saying for generations. They want to destroy the family unit. Marx was very explicit about this, like literally explicit, literally said like we're going to take all of the children from the parents, like you have the baby, and then after the baby is like six months old, we're going to take it. The state takes it in order to equalize everything, and you have to break the bonds between parent and child. It's not your child, it's the state's child. Husband is breadwinner and head of household. Wife is homemaker and subordinate to the husband. Yeah, that makes you white? Did you know that? So, like, if you are, I hate to break this to all of the non white people who happen to live in a setting where the husband is the breadwinner and the wife is a stay at home mom. You're white. Even if you're not white, you're apparently white, or you've internalized whiteness or something. Children should have own rooms, be independent. Okay, all right, I'm gonna I'm gonna divulge something here, probably for the first time. I'm white, Okay, I I am white. However, I I did not have my own room. I did not have my own room. I shared my room with my brother and my two sisters. They shared their room. So none of us are white anymore. I guess we thought we've been white this whole time. I guess not. The emphasis on the scientific method also whiteness objective rational linear thinking. That means you're white. If you think objectively rational linear thinking, that's whiteness, which like rules out I don't know about probably thirty percent of the females. That's I can't. I can't. I'm just it's just a joke. It's just a joke. Okay, save your emails, all right? So I got some text messages from the text line. Amy says, I bet all of the Asian immigrant professors I had in engineering school would love to hear how white they are with all of their objective, rational, linear thinking. This is what makes it all so absurd. Let's see here, nine to eight zero number says I disagree, okay with what I said a lot. Whiteness is absolutely not the standard. Wait a minute, m hm. Whiteness refers to the ways white people and their tradition's attitudes and ways of life have been normalized over time and are now considered standard practices in the United States. Is that what you're talking about. I'm not sure who your nine eight zero number? Who you disagreeing with me? Or the Smithson in these Marxists this critical theory stuff, because that's what this is, critical race theory. That's what this chart is. That's when we first started covering this garbage was during the rise of wokeism about five six years ago. Even as the majority in America, you are still the minority in the world. Exclamation point. Okay, I mean, but this was about America, so that's what we were talking about. So im not really anyway, whiteness is not the standard and it does not equal good. Did somebody say that? Who said that? Who said? Again? People here? It's amazing to me. I've been doing this a long time and it still amazes me how people hear things. That are not said. Really it. Every time I see something like this, it surprises me again, like how prevalent this is and how often this occurs. I'm not sure what this texter heard what they're keying in on about. Nobody said whiteness is the standard. If anything, that would be from the critical theory people, the critical race theory side. That would be your Ibramex Kendy's, your Robin DeAngelo's. That's something that they would assert. I haven't asserted that. I'm actually ripping it because here's the thing. Nine to eight zero number, if that is your real name. That whiteness is not a standard. Whiteness is not these things. These things are these things. That's it. There's nothing that inherently attaches to a race. You know, when you say to under the emphasis on the scientific method, cause and defect relationships, quantitative emphasis like anybody can do that. That's not that's not restricted to white people. White people are not the only ones who can think objectively and use rational linear thinking. That's what makes this stupid. It sounds like you're disagreeing with the Smithsonian. That statement is another failed attempt to make exalt the white race for their fear of genetic annihilation. Well, that sounds like something you're happy about. Are you happy that the whites are going to get genocided? Is that. There are some raggedy bleep white people all over the planet, pay attention, don't take the white pill, not a O number. I gotta say, you sound kind of racisty, But then again, that is really at the core of the critical race theory stuff. So and that's what we're running through. These examples that the Smithsonian promoted that we ridiculed at the time. I could have actually just gone back and pulled my old podcast where I went over this stuff. I could have just played that again, because that's what the big report came at. This is the stuff that they're talking about. For example, under the category of history or should I say, people's story based on Northern European immigrants experience in the United States. Heavy focus on the British Empire. Now, why would American history have a heavy focus on the British Empire? Is there some dare I say, rational linear way of explaining that I have no British ancestry, But I can understand why there might be a bit of a heavy dose of British history in American history, what with us being a British colony at all? Right, doesn't that track? Doesn't that seem to make sense? The primacy of Western Greek, Roman, and Judeo Christian traditions. Once again, this also tracks. The country was founded by and used the ideas and philosophies and teachings of Greek, Roman, and Judeo Christian traditions. That's what built this. You may not like that, you may not like any of those traditions, but that doesn't make it untrue the facts, to quote Ben Shapiro, do not care about your feelings. The Protestant work ethic. Once again, a whole lot of Protestants came to America, settled a lot of places here. So yeah, the Protestant work ethic. Hard work is the key to success. You work before you play, and then they have this in quotation marks which I'm not really sure who said this. They don't attribute it. They just say, quote, if you didn't meet your goals, you didn't work hard enough. End quote. I'm not sure that see. But again that's tapping into, I guess an idea of personal responsibility that if you fall short of your goals, then keep working, keep trying, persevere, keep striving, and you will then achieve your goals. I know that's a terrible thing. To teach people, right, My goodness, you don't want anybody to achieve goals in this life, because if you achieve some goals, that might make me feel bad about not achieving any of my goals, even though I've done nothing to achieve them. Holidays. These are based on Christian religions. Why why. Well, probably because the people who settled here were Christians. Again, just spitballing on this people, I'm thinking that's why it's prevalent in our history is because it was prevalent in our history. Right, Yeah, So you get the flavor, you get the GISs of all of this. So this is the stuff that the Domestic Policy Council was explored. So I read a text from nine eight zero number if that is their realness. In fact, I'm just gonna nine eight zero nine eighty zero zero play zero. Can I call you zero? It's like okay, okay, So now you're just all right. So there's like two more messages of all just come in. You're just spamming the text line. Now you know what happens when you spam my text line, you get banned. I haven't even read your stuff, so I don't say, oh, it's good, I'm critical. It's because I disagree. I prefer to read the the disagreements. I prefer for people to engage in the in the debate with me. But this is not engaging in debate if you're just gonna spam and you can't and like the stuff that writing doesn't even make sense. It may make sense as you're doing a voice to chat or something I don't know, but when I'm trying to read it, it becomes very difficult to understand what it is you're trying to communicate. So it's one of the downsides. I'm gonna say it. I'm just gonna say it. People rely on this text line to convey their thoughts, and a lot of people do not do it? Well, all right, I said it, Okay, I just I said it. It's just it's not it doesn't it. A lot of this stuff does not come through very well. So if you used to call in and now you're texting, or you're just like, ah, just text because it's easier, that's fine. But recognize that if I can't decipher what it is you're trying to say, or it doesn't make any sense, like I'm I'm not going to read it. I'm I'm sorry, I'm not going to read it. Okay. So nine eight zero said sorry, Zero said that, Oh there's more. There's four texts. Okay, you know what. I'm just not even it's four different texts. Robert says, do do do hey? Nine to eight zero No. So now Robert's responding to zero saying, why so bitter, Quit griping and bring something constructive to the table, or simply be quiet. Thank you for what you do, Pee, keep it up. We were grateful, Thank you, Robert Dan says in response to their derision. I am proud of such superior values and quality. See that's the thing critical race theory. And for those of you who want to memory, hold this whole episode in our political discourse. Or maybe you weren't paying attention six years ago, seven years ago, maybe you weren't you know, in tune with the zeitgeist of the time. I was, okay, so I remember all of this, and this kind of garbage, this racist garbage, is what the left was pumping into every aspect of every one of our civic and societal institutions, all of this crap, right, pitting people against each other based on immutable characteristics, saying that, oh, that's how white people are. Oh that's you know, if you're white, you've got this. That means you did that, it means you're guilty of this other thing whatever. You cannot lump all people into these categories. Racism is the lowest form of collectivism. I am not a collectivist. I have spent how like, how many shows have I been doing against collectivism, Marxism, communism, socialism, Maoism, like all of these things. These are all collectivist ideologies. I abhor them. I hate them. They rob people of their freedom, their liberty, their individual rights. That's why I oppose them. Racism is the lowest form of that collectivism, because you're lumping everybody in based on a single characteristic that they had no control over. Right, So when I see this, whether it's against black people, white people, Hispanic people, whatever, right then I'm going to call it out for what it is. That's what this is. It's racism. That's what the Smithsonian was promulgating. And that's what they're in trouble for now because the Domestic Policy Council did a one hundred and sixty plus page report, a deep dive into their practices. Oh and they went through their emails, they went and looked at all of the exhibits in the museum and yeah, it's not good. It has not been good. We'll pick it up in the next hour. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the business. This is that advertise on the podcast, So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to dpetecalnarshow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.