President Trump wants to place a "colossus" George Washington statute outside the National Museum of American History, as well as signs warning that the content inside the museum is biased.
asserted
content → want → museum
On the flip side, the Secretary of the Smithsonian is stepping down, and the institution bypassed Congress to build a new Latino American museum.
asserted
institution → step → museum
Relatedly, the Smithsonian spent years and untold amounts of money to test the DNA in strands of Thomas Jefferson's hair to determine whether he in fact had children with Sally Hemmings.
asserted
he → spend → Hemmings
The Smithsonian is not going to make it through the current fight.
asserted
Smithsonian → go → fight
The Chief Justice may think he can smooth things over with press releases and surrogate statements.
uncertain
he → think → releases
It won't work.
asserted
It → work → ?
My proposal in Civitas Outlook: The Smithsonian should declare its independence from the Federal Government.
asserted
Smithsonian → declare → Government
It simultaneously exists inside and outside the federal government.
asserted
It → exist → government
The nineteen museums and zoo are funded mostly by Congress but also receive private donations.
asserted
museums → fund → donations
The governing Board of Regents includes a mix of public officials and private citizens.
asserted
Board → govern → officials
Despite this commingled status, the Smithsonian Institute has long maintained its independence from the federal government.
asserted
Institute → maintain → government
Historically, few conflicts arose, as these world-class museums appealed to Americans across the political spectrum.
asserted
museums → arise → spectrum
But in recent years, conservatives have been left fuming as the Smithsonian now preaches progressive orthodoxies on race, gender, and politics.
asserted
Smithsonian → leave → race
Even as President Trump asserts further control of the museums, the Smithsonian Institution is urged to push back.
asserted
Institution → assert → museums
The group seems to be bypassing Congress to construct a new museum for Latino Americans.
asserted
group → seem → Americans
This is not a fight the Smithsonian can win.
asserted
Smithsonian → win → ?
If the Smithsonian truly seeks actual independence, there is only one path forward: formal separation from the federal government.
asserted
Smithsonian → seek → government
And if the Smithsonian wants the benefits of government funding but not the burdens of government control, Congress should cut the Smithsonian loose.
asserted
Congress → want → Smithsonian
And, I propose that Justice Breyer can step in to right the ship through the stormy waters:
asserted
Breyer → propose → waters
Congress should involuntarily spin off the Smithsonian to a private entity.
asserted
Congress → spin → entity
The new non-profit can maintain whatever land and assets it has, and federal appropriations would wind down over a period of time.
asserted
appropriations → maintain → time
Current government officials would roll off the board.
asserted
officials → roll → board
Perhaps retired Justice Stephen Breyer, who has expertise in architecture, could serve as interim Chancellor.
uncertain
who → have → Chancellor
Indeed, freeing the institution from federal control could lead to innovation.
uncertain
freeing → free → innovation
It might make sense to separate the nineteen museums and the national zoo into separate entities.
uncertain
It → make → entities
Some donors might be willing to support the panda exhibit, and other donors would support exhibits about stamp collecting.
uncertain
donors → support → collecting
There is no real reason that all of these entities have to be subsumed by a unified sclerotic bureaucracy.
asserted
all → be → bureaucracy
The Smithsonian Institution stands at an inflection point.
asserted
Institution → stand → point
The trust earned since the nineteenth century has been squandered away.
asserted
trust → earn → century
If Chief Justice Roberts truly believes in the independence of the Smithsonian, his greatest act of selfless institutionalism would be to let his own position go.
asserted
position → believe → institutionalism
Or, the way for the Smithsonian to stop being dependent on the federal government is to stop being dependent on the federal government.
asserted
Smithsonian → stop → government
The Aporia
