Arts and culture, represent
Over the last month, several articles have mentioned that Quincy Jones, the acclaimed musician and producer, is lobbying President Obama to create a minister of culture or secretary of the arts position in his administration. And why not? In recent years, it certainly feels like arts and culture have been pushed to the side. The arts form part of the backbone of this country, and provide a massive tax base that pays for all sorts of federal projects. Maybe it’s time to give this important part of our collective and distinctly American culture a national voice. This country invented jazz, for crying out loud. Jazz, of course, being Jones’ life-long passion and what gave him his start back in the be-boppin’ 1950s.
According to “Q” (his favored nickname), we’re the only industrialized country that doesn’t have some sort of cabinet-level arts position. That seems impossible, but it’s true. With all the money that was slashed from the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) back in the mid-90s thanks to Newt and Co. and a couple of bad PR moves (And no, it hasn’t really gotten better since then. Although a lot of people think the subsequent “raises” given to the NEA in the last few years has healed some of the damage, it absolutely has not.), hasn’t the time come, in this new administration, to give the arts some sort of advocate in D.C., someone who may even be able to, I don’t know, occasionally have coffee and a chat with the President?
Anyway, an ingenious soul set up an online position directed at President Obama to ask that this new arts position be created. If you feel strongly as well, go on and sign it.
