The DC Capitol Visitor Center opened last week three years late and $360 million dollars over budget. The AP reported that James Billington, the librarian of Congress, said the new visitor’s center "will make the Capitol, the icon of our republic, more accessible to all of us than ever before." He also said,“It provides a splendidly presented civics lesson.”
The first place one walks into is the Hall of Emancipation where the massive Statue of Freedom stands along with Sakakawea, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The exhibit hall display cases look like they were overrun by liberal interest groups. Environmentalism, healthcare, and public education groups must be pleased to have been deemed as important if not more important than our Constitution’s Bill of Rights. On the same wall as the freedom of the press display case, today’s liberal causes were also displayed. Check out the Video .
For example, a display case highlighting the conservation of the Yosemite Valley says the following:
S.203 38th Congress, Regarding Yosemite Valley, May 17, 1864
This bill signed into law by President Lincoln on June 30, 1864, represents the first time the federal government acted to protect and preserve scenic lands. Conservationists persuaded Senator John Conness to introduce a bill to keep Yoesemite Valley from being ruined by increasing commerce and tourism. The bill granted Yosemite to the state of California.
Universal healthcare groups can see their movement’s historical heritage behind glass at the CVC. The text in the display case gives the many visitors an idea about the history of the 1965 Medicare Act:
The Medicare Act of 1965-Gauranteeing Healthcare for the elderly
This official copy of the Medicare Act bears the signatures of the Speaker of the House, the vice president, and the president. The notation of the date, place and time is unusual. The president’s uneven signature results from his using multiple pens--gifts to key sponsors of the bill.
Public school education snagged a display case too. Here is how it was presented:
Supporting Public Education
The Northwest Ordinance, the nation’s first legislators laid down the principles for public education. The ordinance, which predated the Constitution, framed the plan for governing the territories “north and west of the river Ohio” and their admission to the Union. (The ordinance also banned slavery and guaranteed religious and civil freedom.) In 1789, Congress reenacted the ordinance and subsequently extended its provisions to other western territories, as the United States became a transcontinental nation.
The Northwest Ordinance, 1787
The authors of the Northwest Ordinance believed educated citizens critical to the success of self-government. Article 3 declared, “…education shall forever be encouraged,” The Northwest Ordinance together with the earlier Land Ordnance of 1785, set aside a section of each new town-ship’s land for the support of public schools.
Do not bother looking for the history on the second amendment at the visitor’s center. As of this writing, a prominent second amendment display case could not be found. However, conservatives are already in an uproar over the displays.
South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint has taken up the cause of exposing the “left leaning” displays(h/t salon.com) in the CVC. DeMint’s statement said the following:
The Capitol Visitor Center is designed to tell the history and purpose of our nation's Capitol, but it fails to appropriately honor our religious heritage that has been critical to America’s success. While the Architect of the Capitol has pledged to include some references to faith, more needs to be done. You cannot accurately tell the history of America or its Capitol by ignoring the religious heritage of our Founders and the generations since who relied on their faith for strength and guidance. The millions of visitors that will visit the CVC each year should get a true portrayal of the motivations and inspirations of those who have served in Congress since its establishment.
The current CVC displays are left-leaning and in some cases distort our true history. Exhibits portray the federal government as the fulfillment of human ambition and the answer to all of society’s problems. This is a clear departure from acknowledging that Americans’ rights "are endowed by their Creator" and stem from "a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence." Instead, the CVC’s most prominent display proclaims faith not in God, but in government. Visitors will enter reading a large engraving that states, "We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution." This is an intentional misrepresentation of our nation’s real history, and an offensive refusal to honor America's God-given blessings...
The fundamental principles of the freedom we enjoy in this country stem from our Founding Fathers’ beliefs in a higher power, beliefs put forth in the Declaration of Independence and manifest throughout our Constitution. If we cease to acknowledge this fact, we may cease to enjoy some of the freedoms we take for granted. We must not censor historical references to God for the sake of political correctness. And we must truthfully represent the limited form of government the Constitution lays out so that our "government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." So help us God.
