A friend recently suggested that going to museums and national parks is an act of resistance. I understand the sentiment. If you disagree with cutting federal funds for parks and museums, and disagree with changes to how we talk about our shared (and not always glorious) history, then going to those places is a way of saying those places and stories matter. Showing up can be an act of defiance.
A better reason to go to parks and museums is for what they do for you, not what they do against someone else. Saying you should go to parks and museums because someone with whom you disagree doesn't like those places defines those places in terms of the person doing the closing. It says “go here because someone else doesn’t want you to.” That diminishes those places and stories. It also diminishes you. The argument is that your visit matters because of what you oppose, not because of who you are.
Our politics is increasingly defined by who and what we are not. We spend a lot of time being against each other and not so much time being with each other. If what I do is about what you don't like, I'm not doing either of us any good.
A better reason to go to museums and parks and to learn history is because they're great places to visit and the stories matter. Walking in a park, alone or with a friend, is about your being in a beautiful place that can add calm and perspective. Visiting a museum and taking seriously our complicated past can help you get a better grounding in the present and guide a better path forward. Going to those places, embracing all of the history, aren't acts of resistance. They are acts of humanity.