总统和世界上最大博物馆的较量

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特朗普没有一周不制造话题，上周他招惹的对象是美国著名博物馆Smithsonian。在讲述这个新闻的时候，我们先看路透社的原文报道：

Trump targets the Smithsonian again, says it focuses too much on how bad slavery was

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday he will pressure the Smithsonian Institution - a premier museum, education and research complex for U.S. history and culture - to accept his demands, just like he did with colleges and universities by threatening to cut federal funding.

In a social media post, Trump complained about what he called excessive focus on "how bad Slavery was."

"I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made," Trump said on Truth Social.

The Smithsonian, which was established in 1846 and includes 21 museums and galleries and the National Zoo, had no immediate comment. Most of its museums are in Washington, D.C.

The White House said last week it will lead an internal review of some Smithsonian museums after Trump earlier this year accused it of spreading "anti-American ideology" and raised alarm among civil rights advocates.

When asked if Trump would threaten funding cuts to the Smithsonian based on the findings, a White House official said "President Trump will explore all options and avenues to get the Woke out of the Smithsonian and hold them accountable."

Trump wrote: "The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future."

The Smithsonian receives most of its budget from the U.S. Congress but is independent of the government in decision-making. Civil rights advocates say Trump's administration is undoing decades of social progress and undermining the acknowledgment of critical phases of American history.

Racial justice group Black Lives Matter said on X that Trump's post showed that he wanted to lock the country in a "fairy tale" and deny the atrocities of slavery.

Trump has made threats to cut federal funding of top U.S. educational institutions, citing pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel's war in Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Last month, the government settled its probes with Columbia University, which agreed to pay $221 million, and Brown University, which said it will pay $50 million. Both institutions accepted certain government demands. Talks to settle with Harvard University are ongoing.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese, Richard Chang, Rod Nickel and Michael Perry

去过美国首都华盛顿DC的朋友们，尤其是带小孩去的，Smithsonian(史密森尼)博物馆是个绕不开的景点。它其实不是一个单一的博物馆，而是一个庞大的博物馆和研究机构综合体，被称为“史密森尼学会”（Smithsonian Institution）。它堪称世界上最大的博物馆和教育研究机构联合体。这个系列博物馆的创始人是詹姆斯·史密森（James Smithson），一位英国科学家，虽然他从未去过美国，但对美国有一种天生的好感，在他的遗嘱中，他请求把自己的全部财产遗赠给美国，用于在华盛顿特区建立一个以他的名字命名的机构，“为了增加和传播知识”。对于接不接受这笔钱，美国政府还曾有过争议，但最终还是在1846年成立了史密森尼学会。如今，这个系列博物馆拥有超过1.54亿件藏品（2023年数据），仅1%左右公开展出，可想而知，这是个多么庞大的文化遗产，也是美国人引以为荣的美国物质和精神世界的象征。

这篇报道的关键词是woke, anti-American ideology, fairy tale，关键的句子是特朗普说的这句话："The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future."

这句话也是他瞄准史密森尼博物馆的原因。我把他这段话的中文意思大致写一下：史密森尼失控了，在那里所讨论的每一件事情都在说我们国家有多糟，奴隶制有多坏，那些被践踏的人有多不堪；而对于成功，对于光明，对于未来，他们却只字不提。

很显然，特朗普认为，在这个美国最大的博物馆群中，回避了对美国、美国梦、美国精神的弘扬，反倒是对美国的阴暗面，如奴隶制、种族、觉醒等问题津津乐道。

当然，反对的声音也不绝于耳，说特朗普此举是对于已经取得的社会进步的一种倒退，说之前那种把美国描绘成童话世界的叙事是在为这个国家的黑暗历史遮羞。

目前，特朗普瞄准史密森尼博物馆的举动才迈出第一步，即去函要求做出解释和整改，以及在社交媒体上制造话题，引起公众讨论，让此话题发酵，接下去（如果不奏效的话），他将采取针对之前几个著名大学相同的策略，即收回、削减政府拨款（哥大，布朗大学目前已经低头，哈佛还在谈）。史密森尼既不是纯粹意义上的政府公办机构，也不是完全的私人所有，而是一个独特的混合体，可以把它理解为国家所有，公私合营（其董事会成员包括美国副总统、最高法院首席大法官、参议院和众议院的议员等国家头面人物）。其中，国家每年拨款占其总收入的2/3，由于该博物馆大部分都是免费向公众开放的，巨大的维持经费对于其存续和发展都必不可少。可以想见，如果政府收回拨款，博物馆断难维持。

我估计，史密森尼最终会遵从特朗普政府的意志，毕竟，政府掌管着钱袋子，除非你不要这笔钱（这不可能）。对于这届政府来说，它们叙事中的美国，必须是高扬美国主旋律的，当他们认为作为美国梦的展厅的史密森尼博物馆竟然不展现这些主旋律，反而是媒孽其短，那就是叔可忍，嫂不可忍。

这再次证明了：没有所谓的客观历史，只有一段时期内占主导话语权的历史叙述。

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