I hate to see this. I know it’s happening all over the nation as governments struggle to save cash, maximize available dollars and meet their overheads. This time, as reported in the Chicago Tribune, linked to below, the historic sites in the state of Illinois, which faced massive cuts a few years ago, are feeling the pain of further cuts effective last week. This is a cruel fate for a state that boasts so many sites that tie directly to America’s most beloved president, Abraham Lincoln.

Basically what bothers me so much about this is that there is an almost cavalier attitude among state governments when it comes to cutting budgets for historic sites. I understand that considerations have to be made for essentials, and the “now” often needs to trump the past, but our nation’s past is what makes it so interesting, what makes it a great country, and the memory of which will eventually make Americans a great people – we’re not there yet, in my opinion, but close. That opinion, by the way, in no way reflects the opinion of Style Century Magazine or its staff…

If you have Illinois closing and severely limiting places where Lincoln worked and played and lived and loved, it can’t be long before they are closed all together, opened to only a privileged few. This is not right, nor should it be that these places are open only during the summer for a few days a week. Money needs to be found somewhere to keep historic sites open, to allow students to experience the history of the nation in a tangible direct way. Really, what could be next? Are they going to start limiting access to the mall in Washington, D.C.? Will the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials only have weekend hours? Will you need reservations?

I normally try and check my anger when it comes to writing this blog, out of respect for the readers, and for the good people that put it up, but this has been just an awful year for this type of thing, and the very history of our nation is at stake. There is already so much to distract Americans from learning about their history – I won’t go into details here, but you know what I mean – and I fear for future generations, not to mention present ones, who are already hard-pressed to locate our capital on a map, or to name the Vice President or Speaker of the House.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Here’s a link to the Chicago Tribune article.

-Noah Fleisher, Aug. 3, 2008