Gettysburg museum for sale

The people who run the Gettysburg National Military Park's new museum and visitors' center have been out soliciting funds by promising not just to immortalize the donor by name but to distort the entire purpose of the museum and center.

Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation approached the [McCormick Tribune] foundation with idea of a gallery about Civil War journalism and Illinois troops.

And McCormick bought in for a (forgive me) miserable, lousy, stinking $1 million donation; a gallery will be built and dedicated for this purpose. Can one even build a wing on a museum for $1 million or less?

"It certainly is a significant donation and one that reflects not only McCormick Tribune Foundation's interest in their own history but also in helping us bring this important aspect of our nation's history to the visitors."

"Hey, you went to Gettysburg on vacation?" "Oh man, let me tell you about Civil War journalism and Illinois troops!"

This is hyper reality in action. Something has a connection with the Civil War; Gettysburg has some connection to the war; anything connected with the war is connected with Gettysburg; Gettysburg attracts tourists. Voila - an unrestricted license to fundraise on contrived themes; to clutter the visitors' experiences and mislead them.

Hey, Frank Perdue: we need a museum gallery displaying chicken-based meal preparation before, during, and after the battle.

Out-of-control fund-raisers - guardians of our common heritage.