Mount Vernon simply cannot be separated with the man and its not what the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association want. As stated on the official website, "The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association is an intrepid group of American patriots who have been preserving and promoting George Washington's Mount Vernon for more than 160 years." If the property was managed by the National Park Service, perhaps the narrative of Mount Vernon would be more expansive in scope. The justification of Outstanding Universal Value outlined in the nomination refers to Mount Vernon as an "evolved cultural landscape of the 18th-century American south".

I enjoyed my time at Mount Vernon, but the founding myths of American greatness should not be inscribed on the world heritage list. Sure Washington is a great man, but he is also a deeply flawed one as well. Unfortunately, while the preservationists that operate Mount Vernon have done more to address the issue of slavery, the narrative over generations that has been fed to the American public is one that still tends to justify or dismiss slavery when discussing statesmen like Washington or Jefferson. For example, common dismissals of the slavery issue include "Washington freed his slaves when he died." That is only partially correct. Yet, other relevant questions are rarely pursued, for example: What about the conditions of slaves or the stories about slaves that attempted to escape Mount Vernon? I was certainly curious to know more about the slave burial ground.

I am thankful the Alamo was not inscribed on the world heritage list alone, nor was it inscribed for its association with Texan Independence. That would be another example of myth clouding reality. Inscribing the San Antonio missions for the carefully chosen OUV in the nomination made sense. However, that approach would be hard to replicate here in Mount Vernon. Management of the property is a complication and the fact that the site is wildly popular, particularly with school groups, makes little incentive for Americans to support a 2nd nomination attempt. I struggle to see how Mount Vernon can make it toward inscription under these conditions.