Sunday, November 08, 2015

When "History" Becomes Religion

So the North Carolina Museum of History allows the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to design and execute a special Billy Graham hagiography in 5,000 history-free feet of museum space, whitewashing over and airbrushing out anything that doesn't tend to suggest that the man is a living saint and all-round useful Republican symbol. The whole exhibit capped off by video of heir and theocratic bully Franklin Graham lecturing the museum-goer on the true meaning of being such a Towering Figure of Godliness.

This is Billy Graham without context, completely outside history and therefore unhistorical, mounted proudly and non-transparently (no info anywhere that the exhibit is 100% financed and scripted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn.) in the state history museum.

And once he's shuffled off this mortal coil, we'll have his graven image set up in the U.S. Capitol as the living embodiment of everything North Carolina stands for since the Republican Right took over every lever of power in this backward-moving state.

What will history say about that?

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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:28 PM

    Someone alert the Church of Satan. If they wanted an exhibit on "Satanism and the New South", or something similar, the museum would have to give it to them. The staff of the museum gave up their responsibilities as curators, turning over a public space to an evangelical ministry.

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  2. Anonymous7:46 PM

    Don't blame The staff. They had no say in this. In fact one of them was called into the director's office for a 2 hour meeting because she was overheard saying that they would be a laughing stock because of the lack of historical perspective Place the blame where it belongs on the director. A rich Republican with no historical back ground.

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  3. Anonymous8:37 AM

    Ken Howard? He's the director. Is that who you're talking about? Is he the "rich Republican" who allowed Franklin Graham to actually promote himself?

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