I see this event as a great learning moment for the profession. I would argue that far from being the worst thing that ever happened to this profession, this was a wake up call for the profession. Yes, closure of the exhibition was certainly sad but does it constitute a tragedy? In his article, “History and the Culture Wars,” Richard Kohn states that the closure of the Smithsonian’s Enola Gay Exhibition “may constitute the worst tragedy to befall the public presentation of history in the United States…” Did anyone else find this to be an overly dramatic statement?
