This opinion piece by Sebastian Smee of WaPo takes aim at the cultural sickness of that is rapidly spreading through our institutions. Spot on. One might think that an art gatekeeper like Darren Walker (President of the Ford Foundation) would understand the societal value of art. And BTW, I will continue to use the term “tone deaf,” literally and metaphorically without apology. It’s so sad to watch people in high places peeing all over themselves to accommodate pernicious Woke ideology.

Which aspect of Walker’s statement in support of postponing the Guston show might have caused more upset? Was it the part where he used a term for having problems discerning pitch, which some deaf people might have mistakenly construed as a reference to them? Or was it the part where he offered his support for censoring one of America’s most influential artists, in the process disappointing art lovers around the world, putting freedom of artistic expression in jeopardy, and sending a chilling signal to artists about what will be permissible and what won’t?

We live in a democracy, and it’s okay to have different opinions about Philip Guston and his imagery. Even though he was an avowed anti-racist who has influenced some of today’s most brilliant and politically engaged Black artists, some people are not going to like some of his imagery.

But that goes for a lot of art, and even a lot of great art. What you do, if you’re running a museum and have decided this artist deserves such a show, is what museums are supposed to do: You educate. You inform. You honor the nuance. You don’t just accept, you commit to complexity. Not later, in 2024, but precisely now, when nuance and complexity are being violently expunged from the public sphere . . .