Alan’s TTIM Stories #13

Public funding? Private funding? Individual funding? Who is the brave knight to save our civilization’s arts and culture? What is it worth? Many questions emerge with an attempt to solve below:

Budget recommendations from past federal administrations advocated eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Government funding for the arts has a history of threats. A perception exists limiting the arts to liberal elites going to the opera in gowns and tuxedos.

We live in a dangerous time of book banning and government stifling of academic offerings. As public opinion swings between conservative and liberal, these national mood swings incur an inconsistency in policy affecting the stability of government-assisted arts programs. Why is this tolerated?

Even at current levels, the United States is far behind many countries in arts funding. Finland (the happiest country on earth according to surveys) leads the way with 2.10% of all public funds going to the arts with the U.S. in tenth place with a meager 0.13%. Arts funding hovers around 0.004% of the budget.

President Johnson’s Great Society established The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1965. In the first bit of irony – the conservative Richard Nixon appointed Nancy Hanks to be the second chairperson of the NEA. She became the hero of the agency increasing its prestige and funding. One of the highlights of her term was her enthusiastic championing of saving the Old Post Office building, a historic building built in 1899 (photo below). The Nixon administration wanted it torn down.

NEA funding came under attack again under David Stockman and the Reagan administration in 1981. The plan included a phase out of the NEA and NEH over three years. Justification – objectionable artwork funded by the agency – freedom of expression battling the far right. The Williams-Coleman substitute bill offered a compromise to save funding.

Next came the Newt Gingrich attack to eliminate public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The bureaucrats versus Big Bird.* Another failed attempt.

Another attack came in March 16, 2017, when the Trump administration made an attempt to eliminate public funding. Congress stepped in again. Remember the Old Post Office saved by Nancy Hanks? In another bit of irony, it became the Trump International Hotel between 2016 and 2022.

In a review of historic realities, we should expect an incessant fight for government support of the arts. The fickle electorate has proven to be an unreliable ally. Continue to advocate for public funding, but do not depend on a government with dizzying pendulum swings from  left to right. Keep fighting, be proactive, and use creativity – thought to be a detriment – to arrive at solutions. Lovers of the arts must rise up to ensure adequate funding. Individuals, organizations, corporations, and foundations can be the catalyst.

Foundations have a history of supporting the arts. This is an opportunity for extraordinary measures – to dip into billion-dollar endowments to build fail-safe endowments for imperiled art entities, providing enough to expand current programming.

Others can join the effort – telethons, concerts, parties, events. A national effort will prove to the world that Americans believe in the possibility of an expressive and elevated existence. We also need to educate the populace on the positive economic engine of arts and culture.

A country is not made great by suppressing expression. It is made great by every citizen taking responsibility to support the best of humankind. Art is not a superfluous luxury. It promotes self-expression, reveals injustice, comments on the social condition, and seeks beauty everywhere and in everyone.

We can do this. We must do this.

*Big Bird is a member of the Sesame Street repertory of
characters on a program of PBS – Public Broadcasting Services

Sources:
Wikipedia  
Poets & Writers Magazine – Kevin Nance, May-June 2017
Photo: Old Post Office building in DC
Wikimedia Commons,
 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

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Follow Alan’s TTIM Stories at Facebook.com/alan.vandervoort or Instagram & Treads vandervoort_author or www.alanvandervoort.com. Novels: Sandhills – A Novel and Key Largo Summer are found at Booklocker.com and other online booksellers.