Night at the Museum of America
What are you up to today?
Six years ago, in the fall of 2020, I asked my readers how they were doing. More specifically: how were they handling pandemic isolation? Does anyone remember the optimistic theory that if we all stayed home for 30 days, we’d be back to work by April?
That one aged beautifully.
The month stretched into two, then three. Eventually, in May 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the pandemic protocols over. Three years of double-taking at a sneeze in the grocery store. Three years of side-eyeing a stranger whose mask slipped below their nose. Stickers and arrows on floors teaching us what six feet really looks like.
As an American, I sometimes feel like I’m living through another kind of pandemic. A virus loosed against our constitutional freedoms. I’m talking about the MAGA virus. You could even call it a MAGA epidemic.
This particular strain was cultivated over decades and released in 2016. It returned with a sequel and a companion manual titled Project 2025. Symptoms may include: exhaustion, blown minds, burst bubbles, sharply reduced buyer confidence, despair, anger, spontaneous group protests, and in some cases, death. Death by ICE.
To regulate my nervous system, I’ve turned to silly movies. I’m rewatching the Night at the Museum trilogy (2006, 2009, 2014). I love Ben Stiller. I cherish every Robin Williams scene. The cameos are a delight. The movies are fabulously ridiculous.
Meanwhile, the MAGA virus keeps rewriting national history and quietly deleting files.
“Whitewashing American history robs visitors of an accurate and complete education, making it harder to learn from that history.”
—The Guardian
The virus feeds on America’s ugliest chapters. Newspapers call it whitewashing. I sit here watching wax figures come to life while, outside the screen, real history feels like it’s being sanded down like old furniture.
Tonight, I’m placing those thoughts gently at the back of my mind.
I just want to watch a movie and laugh.
shannon p. laws 