I'm not looking at the isue in terms of what is "progressive". Progressive has very specific echoes and associations in the days of Critical Social Justice theories. -which I reject. I reject them not becaue I'm reactionary or necessarily conservative ( which assumes what is being attempted or pushed is good/progressive/inevitable/right side of history etc), but becaue they are intentionally provocative and with a specific and determined political intent with which I take issue.
(You stated on another thread ( Chat) that this board ( FWR) is not where you go if you are " truly a liberal").
And yes, as others have said people join the NT primarily for pleasure and enjoyment, as well as to be more aware of how people lived, thought, conducted themselves in times gone by. When my children were young I also joined the NT so that we could visit the many wonderful parks and gardens and areas of ONB in the areas in which we lived.
Learning of the small and intimate details of historical background and context of buildings, contents, and peoples tends to come in a natural and organic way. What recent 'initiatives' are doing is forced feeding according to the strictures of equity and reparation - which is why you are getting such push back and resistance.
When something is done in a more relaxed and natural manner people are more readily receptive. You don't get push back if you are not pushing in the first place. People don't like being lectured to and having their visists wilfully distorted with moral imperatives which arre inherently tied to contested political positions.