Quincy Jones has started a petition to ask President-Elect Obama to
appoint a Secretary of the Arts. While many other countries have had
Ministers of Art or Culture for centuries, the United States has never
created such a position. We in the arts need this and the country
needs the arts--now more than ever. Please take a moment to sign this
important petition and then pass it on to your friends and colleagues.
It's quick and easy to sign, if you feel so inclined:
We artists (musicians, dancers, actors, poets…etc.) are some of the biggest champions of individual expression and personal freedom. Yet somehow, we think it’s okay to create a cabinet position to impose our values on the rest of the country.
This is no different from a nasty special interest group lobbying government to get some preferential treatment. It’s unfair to everyone else who has to support government growth with their wallets.
Constitutionally, it doesn’t matter whether we “like” the idea or not, because this sort of thing has no place in a free society. You and I are as free to embrace art as we are to reject it. The fact that something like this can draw so much support so easily shows just how much our understanding of the role of government has deteriorated.
Think critically before jumping on the bandwagon.
Posted by: waffleflip | January 18, 2009 at 09:29 PM