Over the past nine decades, the National Archives and Records Administration has stretched its scope beyond its founding rationale of protecting its holdings to its current stated mission to “drive openness, cultivate public participation, and strengthen our nation’s democracy through equitable public access to high-value government records.”
Lewis, Michael. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (pp. 155-156). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
In 1981 Ronald Reagan in his inaugural address said, “Government is not the solution. Government is the problem.” This statement laying the groundwork for the public attitude toward their government has led to an antipathy of what we hold in common, and an advocacy for privatization which has destroyed our democracy and led to the MAGA movement and the rise of autocracy in the U.S.
The destruction of public institutions and a distrust of the media has led to a concentration of power in the few who are free to sow disinformation and lack of respect for truth because they operate with “alternative facts.” One bastion left for accurate information hopefully is the National Archives and Records Administration weakened when Donald Trump made off with many of the presidential records to Mara Lago in 2021 precipitating a federal case by a special prosecutor which got dropped.
A democracy thrives on accurate information and an autocracy flourishes on disinformation and revised history. Most Americans know little and care little for the NARA, but truth and honesty is the basis of trust and assure a coherent society.
To what extent do you support the mission and vision of the NARA?
Ever since Kellyanne Conway said in Trump's first administration that they dealt in "alternative facts" the truth has been degraded. Preserving the facts has become increasingly important in the age of corruption and deceit.
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