“Our tour was about the American Revolution”
“Excuse me,” a visitor asked as they tapped my shoulder. I was leading a tour group for the National Parks of Boston. We were standing inside Faneuil Hall and just about to hit the Freedom Trail.DeLuca is a longtime seasonal ranger at Boston National Historical Park.
Faneuil Hall was the social, political, and commercial heart of colonial Boston. It also was an arena for action and resistance before, during, and after the American Revolution. The visitor inquired, “Is this one of those woke tours?”
I paused. I thought he was joking at first but he waited for a response. “What do you mean?” I replied.
He asked if the tour was “political.” I told him that our tour was about the American Revolution in Boston, so yes.
He’s also a longtime student of the political background of the National Park Service, as he discussed years back in this History News Network article.
It’s of course impossible to discuss history without touching on politics, especially at a site that was created for a political purpose and preserved because of political activity. And even if, say, Abolitionism is no longer controversial, its principles and arguments echo in today’s issues.
Furthermore, because the National Park Service is a government entity, it’s inescapably political. The fact that the overwhelming majority of American citizens approve of the agency doesn’t change how it was created through a political process and answers to politicians.
National Parks employees understand the responsibilities that go along with their jobs. They’re very careful to avoid political advocacy—far more so than the politicians above them or than we the people have to. But that can’t mean misrepresenting history or science.
DeLuca’s story of meeting this anti-“woke” visitor ends happily because he did his job. Unfortunately, the current administration has been moving to cut lots of jobs from the National Park Service, and perhaps cut parks as well, in order to reduce taxes on rich people and leave a mark on history.
4 comments:
As a former NPS seasonal employee, with many friends in the Park Service over the years, I agree fully with your post, John. Kudos to Mr. DeLuca! My worry, however, is that by coming forward and writing his article, he will now be targeted for retribution, including job loss. In the current climate, I fear that this story may not end happily after all.
So when we see something that is wrong, are you suggesting we should say/do nothing about it? We should remain silent to the bully? If our Founding Fathers remained silent too we would still be ruled by a King.
I can’t tell what the anonymous comment is responding to: the posting or Charles Bahne’s earlier comment. Either way, it doesn’t appear to be a logical reading of what other people have said.
Sorry J.L, I didn’t mean to sign as anonymous (Tom Brawley here…huge fan of your vlogs and all things American Revoltion). I was just replying to Charles’s comment saying given then current administration he feared retaliation could come…while that could very well be the case I still think you need to stand up to the bully or in this case the administration even if it causes some degree of discomfort..because if nothing is said, they notice that too….and try to get away more things..
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