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A MUSEUM WORTH BUILDING - By Rocky Brown
June 21, 2004
Pierce County, Washington needs another museum. Recent openings include such "world-class" museums as The Museum of Glass, The Tacoma Art Museum, and The Washington State History Museum, but these concrete monuments to socialism and post-modernism are of late drawing small gate. Thankfully, on the horizon in Pierce County are two alternatives that actually honor Western Civilization, the Harold LeMay Classic Car Museum and the Pioneer Museum of Motorcycles. But what the county really needs is a museum with a world-class collection of collectivists. It could be called the World Class Collectivist Collection. How is that for a catchy title? A little less convoluted than the official name: Museum of Glass, International Center for Contemporary Art. A little more honest, too, since the glass museum continually plays up the glass component of its name, while playing down the dominance of its nihilist exhibits.
A Collectivist Museum could tour-in regional features such as Lenin's statue from the Freemont district of Seattle. That display could include testimonies by collectivist leaders of Fremont who've attempted to elevate the 'Butcher of the Cossacks' by adopting his statue. A section with focus on collectivist language manipulation would be popular. We might finally arrive at a definition of the word 'is,' or come to understand the attempt by the left to capture the word 'developer,' for, having successfully demonized developers, planners are now adopting that term for themselves. As witness, note the recent name change of the Pierce County Council's Planning and Environment Committee to the Community Development Committee.
Speaking of developers, the local wing of the new museum could also include an account of the Tacoma Planning Commission's efforts to grab land from Joe Mayer's firm Gemstone Builders, LLC. NGO's, local NIMBY'ists, and the planners seem to have finally convinced Mayer of the futility of individualism. It appears now that Mayer will sell 75% of his parcel that adjoins Snake Lake Park to the Cascade Land Conservancy, which will then under the guise of ensuring "open space" immediately close the land. Another 'must' would be a section dedicated to the recent 6-1 vote by the Bonney Lake City Council, who in true fascist form, picked Schurr Brothers Construction, Inc. as an economic loser when it voted to condemn land being developed by Schurr Brothers near Bonney Lake's Allen Yorke Park. Builder William Shurr stated that the taking would have a "devastating effect" on his workers and his business (Puyallup Herald, June 7, 2004).
Of course, this world class collectivist collection would not be complete without wax statues of the Pierce County Council, which voted last month 5-2 to build a publicly owned "world-class" links style golf course at Chamber's Creek overlooking Puget Sound. Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, who will be running his fourth county golf course, believes this latest addition to his golfing options will bring in tourist dollars, and with the anticipated $100 non-county residents green's fee, be a "creative revenue source." However, it is unlikely that such a fee will draw tourists away from the Old Course at St. Andrews, the world's most coveted golf experience. Presently one can play all five of Scotland's famous links courses, including St. Andrews, for less than $525. That package includes a five-night stay, breakfast, and malt tasting in the evening. Maybe Executive Ladenburg could draw those tourist dollars to Pierce County by throwing in a free pass to the Museum of Glass.
One thing is for sure if we don't soon see curators cataloguing the history of collectivist thinking we might as well build a different museum - one that honors the fading idea of 'quaint individualism.'
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Rocky Brown is a 10 year resident of Puyallup, WA.