Yesterday was spent in Bentonville and it is very hard to describe this remarkable place. When I graduated from high school, Bentonville’s population was about 3500. Today, it closer to 65,000 with several hundred thousand living in the general area. Walmart is the biggest employer, with about 15,000 employees locally. It is building a new office campus which is unbelievably extensive. I can not do it justice, but I can try.

And these new offices lead to new multifamily and single family residential buildings, most being done with exceptional flair.

The reason we came, of course, is the Crystal Bridges Museum, showcasing American art. It is a very large museum, founded by Walmart founder Sam Walton’s daughter Alice. The architect was Moshe Safdie.

The art work, and boy, is there a lot of it, is stupendous. And it is a self-avowed practitioner of DEI, showcasing the work of all minorities, especially American Indians. I took many too many pictures. Here are some:

And on and on. So much more.

In addition to the museum proper, there are trails (it was raining hard) and a separate building, the Momentary, being used now for two photo exhibits – rock and roll performances and Johnny Cash at the California prisons.

On the top of the Momentary, an old Kraft factory, there is a wonderful Tower Bar, where we had a drink and snack.

There is a large square in the center of downtown Bensonville, where on the first Friday afternoon and evening of every month, dozens of vendors ply their wares or give things away. Every week.

The square  is the site of Sam Walton’s original 5 and 10, and now the home of the Walmart Museum, which we will save for the next trip.

All in all, I think this is what America could be and should be like. Why isn’t it?

We the people. Symbolizes our country, right? But it is fragile. Made entirely of shoestrings.

It is all inside out and upside down now.