Welcome readers of The Clyde Fitch Report.
So, you know how sometimes you read something significant, but the significance of it doesn’t strike you until later? WELL, I just had one of those moments.
Last semester, I read former NEA Chair Bill Ivey’s book, “Art’s Inc.” It is a great book about many things including cultural policy and our cultural rights as Americans. Towards the end of the book, in his aptly titled chapter “The Failure of Government”, he recalls a discussion he had with a Republican senator whilst trying to garner Congressional support for the NEA’s Challenge America Initiative. To grasp the full effect of this conversation one must read the entire exchange for themselves. Try not to cringe.
As NEA chairman working to restore good relations with the Hill, I met one-on-one with well over two hundred members of Congress. One afternoon I’d taken a meeting with the chief of staff serving John Shadegg, a conservative Republican from Arizona who was then head of the “CATs” – the secretive Conservative Action Team (now called the Conservative Study Group) that set the informal agenda for far-right Republican members of the House. I patiently explained the changes that had been made at the agency, how we were helping communities realize their dreams through the arts with our Challenge American Initiative. He was nodding his head in agreement as I made my points and seemed to be getting the message. About fifteen minutes into the meeting I asked what he thought; would his boss support us? As I remember it, he said: “You’re doing a great job, but we’re still going to oppose you: you’re just too good an issue for us.”
Obviously this part of the book made an impact on me, because I wrote a note in the margin saying “how much harm are attitudes likes this having on important issues facing Americans?” Ivey apparently learned his lesson as well. He says, “…I’d been given a valuable lesson in the politics of culture: members of Congress don’t go to the mat over “grace note” issues, but they will – angling in from the left or the right – speak out if there’s an opportunity to score political points.”
Does reading this cause anyone else to feel discouraged or cynical? It certainly has that effect on me. How can we as a country, with a representative republic form of democracy, ever hope to achieve noble causes like quality education, viable healthcare and a burgeoning arts and culture scene, if we have people representing us who only look at these issues as opportunities for their own political gain. Is it too much to ask that they simply be honest and follow what they think is right and not what they think will get the elected?
Go ahead. Think of the cliche statements that come to mind: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”, “You can’t always get what you want.”, “Everything happens for a reason.”. Well, those don’t make me feel any better in this instance. How are we, as current and future arts and cultural leaders going to argue our case for support with those who have these types of political attitudes? In a culture that is becoming ever increasingly segmented and niche focused, how can we break through the clutter and garner support for solid and supportive arts and cultural policy? Policies that foster growth and expression rather than limit and obscure it.
Some may say I am being a segmented, niche lobbyist in my own right, fighting for issues I may believe are important but others do not. To those I say, “Point taken. But you’re wrong, and I’ll tell you why.” The vast majority of people in this country derive pleasure, enjoyment, even inspiration and enlightenment from some kind of arts or cultural activity. The real die hards get it. They know that those organizations who provide arts and cultural activities don’t simply create money out of thin air. It takes massive amounts of support both financially and in human talent to keep those organizations afloat. It is the vast majority of casual arts patrons who simply don’t realize this. This is why funding and research are needed to not only support organizations that help bring this enjoyment and inspiration to millions of people’s lives, but also discover how these organizations will develop and adapt to best meet the needs of a 21st century audience.
Is this all too “idealistic”? Too, “dreamy”? Or, should I just go back to being a cynic?
Hence, the importance of having someone on your staff who can speak fluent Republican.
You are right about all of this, of course, but the problem is — and I know I sound dire — we are headed for a real political crack-up in this country, left vs. right. The fracturing — or should I say balkanization — of the nation is affecting, and will continue to affect, support for the arts just as it affect every other aspect of life. When you ask our political leaders and powerbrokers to “simply be honest and follow what they think is right and not what they think will get them elected,” you assume that the right-wing doesn’t actually believe what they say they believe. But they do. And in deep-red states, that is precisely what get them elected. So what incentive have they to entertain new ideas. The arts, as an extension of freedom of speech, frightens the right to death. It’s a gloomy situation, truly.
Leonard Jacobs
Editor, The Clyde Fitch Report
PS Would love to be on your blogroll. Will do the same.
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