Prosperous and enduring nations don’t hate themselves.

If that simple sentence rings true to you, then you’ll likely be heartened by a recent letter from the Trump White House to Lonnie G. Bunch, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The letter begins by acknowledging the importance of the Smithsonian “in shaping public understanding of American history and culture” and as “a welcoming place of knowledge and discovery for all Americans.” That’s all Americans. The letter continues:

As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation’s founding, it is more important than ever that our national museums reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story. In this spirit, and in accordance with Executive Order 14253, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, we will be leading a comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions. This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.

This review is a constructive and collaborative effort — one rooted in respect for the Smithsonian’s vital mission and its extraordinary contributions. Our goal is not to interfere with the day-to-day operations of curators or staff, but rather to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America’s heritage.

Self-loathing is a sickness, and it’s one of the hallmarks of the Left. They want us to believe that our nation is irredeemably racist; that it was built upon the genocide of the Native Americans and the slave labor of black Americans. Indeed, when the Democrats are in charge, they peddle ahistorical rubbish like The 1619 Project — a divisive piece of revisionist history by The New York Times’s Nikole Hannah-Jones, whose contributions to reconciliation and constructive discourse include this gem: “The white race is the biggest murderer, rapist, pillager, and thief of the modern world.”

If you sincerely believe those leftist tropes, then you can’t be expected to love your country. If you don’t love your country, you’ll likely seek the dismantlement of its institutions — or at least sit on your hands while others do the dirty work. And that’s precisely what the America-hating Left wants.

Not surprisingly, the Smithsonian has been trampled underfoot during the Left’s long march through the institutions. As evidence of this, consider the “Aspects and Assumptions of Whiteness and White Culture” graphic that disgraced the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture just a few years ago. Who knew that “objective, rational, linear thinking” and “hard work before play” were the exclusive dominion of white people?

Hopefully, the Trump team has since purged these racial arsonists from the Smithsonian’s midst. And is it any wonder that with the 250th birthday of the United States now less than a year away, President Trump wants to focus on the “enduring values that define the American story,” and on the things that unite us as Americans rather than divide us?

Protecting the real American story has long been a priority for Donald Trump. Just two days before the end of his first term, he released a 41-page report from his 1776 Commission, which had been convened as an antidote to the poison propaganda of the Left. Rather than dwelling obsessively on racism and oppression, the report, which was put together by some of America’s most distinguished scholars and historians, offered “a definitive chronicle of the American founding, a powerful description of the effect the principles of the Declaration of Independence have had on this Nation’s history, and a dispositive rebuttal of reckless ‘re-education’ attempts that seek to reframe American history around the idea that the United States is not an exceptional country but an evil one.”

As the editors at National Review put it, “‘America’s Attic’ is about to get a thorough dusting.” But they add a good cautionary note: “While reviewing the Smithsonian’s content for distortions, the administration should be careful to avoid a kind of reverse political correctness that scrubs any account of the nation’s sins. … The goal should be to minimize the influence of ideology at the Smithsonian, not replace one strain of politicized content with another.”

In other words: Stick to what’s real and quintessentially American, and leave both the perversion and the whitewashing of our shared history to the Left.