I am writing to demand that Congress immediately intervene and put a stop to any effort to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The Kennedy Center is not a branding opportunity, a political trophy, or a vanity project. It is a memorial — a national memorial — to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a President who was assassinated while serving his country. His name is not incidental. It is the entire point. Adding another name, altering it, or diluting its purpose is an act of profound disrespect to both President Kennedy and the nation’s history.
Memorials exist to honor sacrifice and legacy. They are not meant to be revised based on who holds power at the moment. If we start attaching additional names to memorials for fallen presidents, then the very idea of a memorial loses its meaning. President Kennedy’s name stands alone because his legacy stands alone.
Equally troubling is the waste of taxpayer money involved in renaming a federally supported institution. At a time when millions of Americans struggle to afford food, housing, healthcare, and basic necessities, the idea that public funds would be spent on new signage, marketing, legal changes, and rebranding is indefensible. If Congress cannot ensure that every American is fed, sheltered, and cared for, then it has no business funding cosmetic political gestures.
This is not what responsible governance looks like. This is not fiscal discipline. And this is certainly not respect for American history.
Congress has a duty to protect national memorials from political interference and to safeguard taxpayer dollars from frivolous spending. I urge you to act now — publicly and decisively — to block any attempt to rename the Kennedy Center, reaffirm its status as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy alone, and make clear that our national institutions are not tools for ego or ideology.
Do the right thing. Protect the memorial. Respect the legacy. And focus on the real needs of the American people.
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