T. J. Stiles, historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author, has written about the critical work of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). You can read Stiles' opinion in this Washington Post article.

Borrowing a few words from him and paraphrasing: we owe it to ourselves to fully fund the keepers of our national (and state) memory.

History is a complex web of people and issues. In my view, we badly need the help of non-partisan organizations to maintain our stories.

Stiles' article concludes, "If we lose touch with who we have been, what we have endured, and how we have argued, the United States will stand for nothing at all."