The Jeffersonian's Political Historian

Of all the employees of the Jeffersonian Institution, I'm probably the least well-known. That fact doesn't bother me in the least, but when I get the opportunity to educate our visitors about the American political process, I truly enjoy my job. It seems fitting that our institution's founder mandated a department dedicated to United States election history, since the Jeffersonian is located in our nation's capital.

My name is Thomas Morgan, not that it matters, and I am the Jeffersonian's political historian. I'm the seventh person to occupy this post, but in the past our services have been limited to assisting academics and individuals running for office. Only recently has our mission been expanded to include an outreach to the general public. Part of this involves developing programs to educate our citizenry on the political process.

Thalonius Adams, the eccentric president of the Jeffersonian Board of Directors has come to my office numerous times over the last few years, visibly distraught and concerned about the declining number of people who go to the polls to vote. He entreated me to help change this trend. And so we have endeavored to do so. I suspect whether or not it is successful will not become evident until a few decades have passed. But we try.

We have instituted a permanent exhibit dealing with the history of presidential elections through our two and a half centuries of existence, and an unparalleled collection of campaign memorabilia. Buttons, posters, hankies, pennants, stickers, mugs, hats, baseball caps—you name it, we've got them.

Part of this department's outreach is a changing exhibit of state elections. We rotate our displays to feature different states, two at a time, so that in slightly over two years, we showcase each state's electoral process and history. For some states, like those of New England and the other original colonies, we have so many artifacts that we have to alternate which items are shown. Obviously, for the states which entered the Union later, the number of artifacts is proportionally smaller and we are able to display the whole collection simultaneously.

We introduced this States Electing exhibit five years ago, and it is gaining in popularity as it becomes more widely known. The staff at the Jeffersonian has agreed to disagree in the interest of civility, for our employees' political leaning cover the spectrum from conservative to liberal. I'd say the liberals tend to outnumber their conservative co-workers, just because we are inside the Beltway, but both camps are equally vociferous and convinced they are right.

I normally relish my career, but I must admit I was saddened recently to read of, and hear on the news about a fundraising speech made by Mrs. Clinton. She reportedly expressed her opinion that many of the voters supporting Mr. Trump comprise a 'basket of deplorables' and went on to describe what she considers the less desirable traits of these supporters. While I fully support freedom of speech for any candidate, this particular comment of Hilary Clinton seems untoward and mean-spirited. A bit immature, like calling names on the playground. And Barbra Streisand's song choices really didn't help the civility of the evening.

Now, this is not to say that Donald Trump hasn't thrown his share of barbs at his opponent. In talking about her campaign, he opined that 'they are causing a lot of bad decisions to be made by some very good people' which strikes me as likely to irritate some voters, but it doesn't approach the ill-mannered tone of Clinton's statement.

My workdays are always more lively in election years. During campaign season, when I'm eating my lunch in the Jeffersonian breakroom or cafeteria, I've frequently found myself unwillingly thrust into the role of referee or moderator. Various co-workers will entreat me to agree that their political opinions are more savvy than those of others. Or they request historical evidence from me to support their positions.

I have found that the only way I can maintain my work relationships, and stay friends with these passionate people, is to observe strict neutrality. Like news reporters are supposed to do. I believe Walter Cronkite and Chet Brinkley would be appalled at the tendency of contemporary reporters to entwine their opinions with the news. In their zeal to fill the 24/7 news cycle of constant coverage, they have lost their objectivity.

Some of my co-workers and associates are better at well-reasoned political discourse than others. Dr. Jack Hodgins is quite conservative in some of his political opinions, while his wife, Angela is liberal. Dr. Temperance Brennan and her partner Agent Seeley Booth are both moderate, but view the political landscape quite differently. These folks can discuss heatedly and disagree vehemently, but they do so politely and civilly. Their respectful comments are often more effective than the put-downs of others.

I expected to catch considerable flak from the Board of Directors from publishing this commentary in the employee newsletter Thomas' Tome last month, but decided I would gladly endure their wrath if it improved the civility of our political discourse. Much to my surprise, several directors requested copies of my remarks and passed them on to colleagues beyond the Jeffersonian. My piece was published in the New York Times and the Washington Post and quoted on the floor of Congress earlier this week.

I'm gratified by this sharing of my observations. In a republic or a democracy, informed participation by all citizens is vital. Each person should carefully examine the issues and candidates and exercise their right to vote. To do otherwise negates their right to complain or gripe about conditions in our nation. Or so I would like to believe. The truth is that people will fuss and moan and groan regardless of whether they voted. But our right to discuss, disagree and dissent is only effective if we go to the polls to express our opinions. On this point, I'm pretty sure ole Thomas Jefferson would agree with me. Give it some thought.