Since this morning, I've been thinking about the arts a lot and the national endowment of the arts. You can probably guess why. Because our ridiculously hard headed commander in chief has decided that the NEA is unworthy of money in his current budget - but weekend trips to Mar a Lago that cost $3 million a pop are worthy of this funding. Funny how that works. I'd rather not pay my taxes and use that money to go to London each month but it seems that's illegal for me...
Anyway, since hearing this news about the NEA budget, all I've been thinking about is one particular Toby Ziegler rant from West Wing. It's fairly perfect! Toby gets what PBS stands for in the lives of kids. Not to mention what it means to adults. PBS is completely free entertainment for kids and adults alike. Why would you cut something that has taught most of the population how to count and spell and create?
On top of PBS, the NEA does so much more than that. It's providing an outlet for artists and creators to make beautiful things. How is that not important in today's world where the state of things is less than beautiful? I'm sure President Trump's precious hotels and residences wouldn't be quite as "gorgeous" (I'm putting that in quotes, because his affinity for gold things is definitely not in my taste...) without designers, and decorators. In other words, artists.
Sometimes, the arts is all kids and adults have as an outlet. In turn, these people sharing their art with the world is their way of giving back, which makes the world a richer and more creative place. Who in their right mind would want to live in a less imaginative world?
I just don't understand. I get needing to cut the budget. It's a necessary evil. But when our very own president isn't willing to cut down his spending on things he finds beautiful, why should we have to?
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