As I finished Olivia's essay, I was thinking the same thing and when I arrived to write my thought, you captured my thought exactly. The goal is to dumb down, create an uneducated, non-thinking people. Take away the arts, takes away self expression, creativity and Diversity; all are evil words in today's political atmosphere.
This is very upsetting!!!!! The arts really shaped my growing up. Schools plays, art classes, going to museums and the theater!!!!! I will always love the arts!!!!! Time to start supporting the local theaters!!!!! 🎭 Thank you for sharing your story Olivia about experiencing the arts in Iraq. 🙏🏾
The MN State Arts Board has 13 Regional Arts Councils supported by the Legacy Amendment, formally known as the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, is a Minnesota constitutional amendment passed in 2008. It dedicates a portion of the state's sales tax revenue to four specific funds: Outdoor Heritage, Clean Water, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage. This amendment increases the state sales tax by three-eighths of one percent, beginning on July 1, 2009 and continuing until 2034.
The return on investment is huge! The smaller arts councils in rural MN receive grants from the Legacy as well as foundations. The contribution arts centers make in their communities is outsized. It might be a good idea to remind rural congressional reps that they are only hurting their own economic future. Econ development likes to build business in places that have 'community' including the arts, education and health care. Their families and future employees don't want to live in a cultural desert.
In northwestern MN New York Mills comes to mind. New York Mills has an amazing arts culture at their New York Mills Cultural Center. Each year they sponsor the 'Great American Think-Off.' It's a debate held in June. NYMills is also the home of Lund boats. You don't get one without the other. www.kulcher.org
Another example is Hutchinson Center for the Arts. Or Brainerd's Crossing Arts Alliance. Or Watermark Art Center in Bemidji. These are established art centers with excellent reputations. So many more and all located in Republican districts. I'm sure there are hundreds of examples across the United States.
I think I might write Pete Stauber and ask him why he wants to get rid of the Duluth Symphony Orchestra.
I was lucky enough to spend a total of 78 days with my college concert choir on two summer concert tours in Europe, in 1971 and ‘73. As a farm kid from rural Oregon, those tours opened my eyes to the world that was completely unknown to me and changed my life forever. Stays in Budapest, Belgrade and Berlin vividly showed me the life people led in communist countries. After a concert on a remote Norwegian island that nearly the entire population of the island attended, those people sang a traditional Norwegian hymn, in perfect 8 part harmony, that I’m sure had been passed down for hundreds of years. I can still hear them singing, and every time I do, I feel their sense of community, of oneness and beauty. My career wasn’t in the arts, but I have sung in various choirs nearly all my life, because that experience, collaborating with dozens of others to create a thing of beauty, feeds my soul in ways that nothing else can.
When all but one of the horrors entombed in Pandora’s Box escaped spreading evil, fear and despair everywhere, the last was, instead, an antidote to the others: Hope. Hope is where art exists.
This is beyond tragic. I always believed our society would learn from past mistakes and get better at serving everyone. As a lover of the arts, thanks to my parents and my educators, this makes me physically ill. Without these treasured organizations and the support that they provide, our society will be less educated, less compassionate, less creative and less connected with the world. I pray that forces intervene to stop this barbaric and incomprehensible cut to the heart of our society.😡😢
Music was the glue that held my school days together. I was in band, starting in 4th grade in a DOD school, and with every military move, I was able to make new friends through the band program. I studied music in college and taught 5-12 grade band in a small rural Nebraska school district. I remember one student who loved playing the drums, but struggled with his other classes. Remaining eligible to participate in band was the motivation he needed to seek help with his math - I helped him with his math because the other teachers had written him off as a lost cause long before. He raised his grades and felt encouraged for the first time in his life because of the motivation of music.
I then spent 20 years as a military musician. I saw firsthand the effect of our performances on the public and veterans. After one performance, a Vietnam veteran came up and told us that we had given him a reason to keep living. He felt seen because of our music. We had groups deploy and see firsthand the effect of music in a theater of war. One group played in a village that our troops had been trying to find common ground with to identify the enemy. The locals did not trust the American military until we sent musicians in for a performance. After the performance, the locals were approaching the Americans offering assistance. Another group played at an embassy where they were trying to forge alliances and peace deals. At the beginning of the performance, the audience was divided on either side of the room and would not speak to each other. After the show and the shared musical experience, people were talking to each other and eventually the needed compromises were achieved.
None of these events would be possible without people being exposed to the arts during their K-12 education years. Without interaction with the arts, people do not learn how to continue the traditions and become the next generation of performers. The arts, and music in particular, are a universal language. They have the ability to bridge gaps that would otherwise remain and widen. You can accomplish so much more through art than you can with might, and at a fraction of the cost.
Another great article. Why doesn’t Trump understand how important this is? You summed it up nicely. “These programs don't exist to turn a profit. They exist to serve people, foster healing, build identity, and preserve history.” He doesn’t understand anything that doesn’t exist for the sole purpose of making money.
Trump goes along with this but this is all driven by Russell Vought, a pure evil Christian Nationalist, who is virulently opposed to anything secular. In his Christian sickness he seeks to destroy anything that doesn't support his Christian Nationalist agenda.
I’ve always thought of music as one of the more powerful forces of effecting change. Words and music together form an almost irresistible influence by stimulating powerful emotions that make ideas stick in our psyches. Music is hard to suppress. It can be passed from musician to musician and spread in the best folk tradition (even if it’s not folk!). Hopefully this tragic development will be fertile soil for musician warriors to engage the nation’s soul. I am blessed to know a few who are up to the challenge and I encourage them to join in the fight.
I grew up in a violent abusive house yet somehow I was allowed to dance. I spent every afternoon and all day Saturday at our small local dance studio and joined the performing company. While the dance community had its own issues, it kept me alive and safe. And it gave me something to be good at that has shaped my entire life. At 68 I still dance and perform with a local group. It brings me great joy especially in these times of so much pain in our country and world.
As a writer for children I know all about the attacks on the arts. I am glad that you highlighted the importance of the arts here, but I wish more republicans would also do so. I know most won’t because it is conservatives who are the ones who call the arts elitist. Maybe once some see the true effects of these cuts that will change. I am not optimistic. But I am grateful that you did.
I keep asking myself why.. these kinds of actions are so stupid, save little money as compared to the “big bucks” they say they need saved .. it simply gets down to making the people of america dumber. Throw out the books that make them think, take away the arts that create conversation … all because of a tyrant wanna be. We should alaways remember what helped soldiers in prison camps survive .. it was the arts of music, songs and plays .. the corrupt felon grifter and his henchmen need to be tossed to the side of the road!
Not only is this a straight up authoritarian move, it’s also a Project 2025/Christian Nationalist goal. For reference, take a peak at the 7 Mountains Mandate.
Great article. The military spends $260 million a year on military bands. But instead they cut the National Endowment for the Arts. They don't flinch when another $80 million fighter falls off a carrier, but they have to "save money" by cutting the National Endowment for the Humanities.
When you destroy ones culture, you destroy their history. To think this is the same playbook ISIS used in destroying historical relics. What great company we keep in the annals of history. Our children will be so proud of us.
The goal is a dumbed down population. This reminds me of Stalin's control of the arts in the Soviet Union. Thanks for shining a light on this
As I finished Olivia's essay, I was thinking the same thing and when I arrived to write my thought, you captured my thought exactly. The goal is to dumb down, create an uneducated, non-thinking people. Take away the arts, takes away self expression, creativity and Diversity; all are evil words in today's political atmosphere.
This is very upsetting!!!!! The arts really shaped my growing up. Schools plays, art classes, going to museums and the theater!!!!! I will always love the arts!!!!! Time to start supporting the local theaters!!!!! 🎭 Thank you for sharing your story Olivia about experiencing the arts in Iraq. 🙏🏾
you should post your emails on Facebook also to promote your work. Keep up the good work
The MN State Arts Board has 13 Regional Arts Councils supported by the Legacy Amendment, formally known as the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, is a Minnesota constitutional amendment passed in 2008. It dedicates a portion of the state's sales tax revenue to four specific funds: Outdoor Heritage, Clean Water, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage. This amendment increases the state sales tax by three-eighths of one percent, beginning on July 1, 2009 and continuing until 2034.
The return on investment is huge! The smaller arts councils in rural MN receive grants from the Legacy as well as foundations. The contribution arts centers make in their communities is outsized. It might be a good idea to remind rural congressional reps that they are only hurting their own economic future. Econ development likes to build business in places that have 'community' including the arts, education and health care. Their families and future employees don't want to live in a cultural desert.
In northwestern MN New York Mills comes to mind. New York Mills has an amazing arts culture at their New York Mills Cultural Center. Each year they sponsor the 'Great American Think-Off.' It's a debate held in June. NYMills is also the home of Lund boats. You don't get one without the other. www.kulcher.org
Another example is Hutchinson Center for the Arts. Or Brainerd's Crossing Arts Alliance. Or Watermark Art Center in Bemidji. These are established art centers with excellent reputations. So many more and all located in Republican districts. I'm sure there are hundreds of examples across the United States.
I think I might write Pete Stauber and ask him why he wants to get rid of the Duluth Symphony Orchestra.
I was lucky enough to spend a total of 78 days with my college concert choir on two summer concert tours in Europe, in 1971 and ‘73. As a farm kid from rural Oregon, those tours opened my eyes to the world that was completely unknown to me and changed my life forever. Stays in Budapest, Belgrade and Berlin vividly showed me the life people led in communist countries. After a concert on a remote Norwegian island that nearly the entire population of the island attended, those people sang a traditional Norwegian hymn, in perfect 8 part harmony, that I’m sure had been passed down for hundreds of years. I can still hear them singing, and every time I do, I feel their sense of community, of oneness and beauty. My career wasn’t in the arts, but I have sung in various choirs nearly all my life, because that experience, collaborating with dozens of others to create a thing of beauty, feeds my soul in ways that nothing else can.
This is so incredibly depressing.
When all but one of the horrors entombed in Pandora’s Box escaped spreading evil, fear and despair everywhere, the last was, instead, an antidote to the others: Hope. Hope is where art exists.
This is beyond tragic. I always believed our society would learn from past mistakes and get better at serving everyone. As a lover of the arts, thanks to my parents and my educators, this makes me physically ill. Without these treasured organizations and the support that they provide, our society will be less educated, less compassionate, less creative and less connected with the world. I pray that forces intervene to stop this barbaric and incomprehensible cut to the heart of our society.😡😢
Music was the glue that held my school days together. I was in band, starting in 4th grade in a DOD school, and with every military move, I was able to make new friends through the band program. I studied music in college and taught 5-12 grade band in a small rural Nebraska school district. I remember one student who loved playing the drums, but struggled with his other classes. Remaining eligible to participate in band was the motivation he needed to seek help with his math - I helped him with his math because the other teachers had written him off as a lost cause long before. He raised his grades and felt encouraged for the first time in his life because of the motivation of music.
I then spent 20 years as a military musician. I saw firsthand the effect of our performances on the public and veterans. After one performance, a Vietnam veteran came up and told us that we had given him a reason to keep living. He felt seen because of our music. We had groups deploy and see firsthand the effect of music in a theater of war. One group played in a village that our troops had been trying to find common ground with to identify the enemy. The locals did not trust the American military until we sent musicians in for a performance. After the performance, the locals were approaching the Americans offering assistance. Another group played at an embassy where they were trying to forge alliances and peace deals. At the beginning of the performance, the audience was divided on either side of the room and would not speak to each other. After the show and the shared musical experience, people were talking to each other and eventually the needed compromises were achieved.
None of these events would be possible without people being exposed to the arts during their K-12 education years. Without interaction with the arts, people do not learn how to continue the traditions and become the next generation of performers. The arts, and music in particular, are a universal language. They have the ability to bridge gaps that would otherwise remain and widen. You can accomplish so much more through art than you can with might, and at a fraction of the cost.
Really enjoyed reading this note back. Thank you for taking the time to share it and more importantly, thank you for your service to our country.
Another great article. Why doesn’t Trump understand how important this is? You summed it up nicely. “These programs don't exist to turn a profit. They exist to serve people, foster healing, build identity, and preserve history.” He doesn’t understand anything that doesn’t exist for the sole purpose of making money.
Trump goes along with this but this is all driven by Russell Vought, a pure evil Christian Nationalist, who is virulently opposed to anything secular. In his Christian sickness he seeks to destroy anything that doesn't support his Christian Nationalist agenda.
I’ve always thought of music as one of the more powerful forces of effecting change. Words and music together form an almost irresistible influence by stimulating powerful emotions that make ideas stick in our psyches. Music is hard to suppress. It can be passed from musician to musician and spread in the best folk tradition (even if it’s not folk!). Hopefully this tragic development will be fertile soil for musician warriors to engage the nation’s soul. I am blessed to know a few who are up to the challenge and I encourage them to join in the fight.
I grew up in a violent abusive house yet somehow I was allowed to dance. I spent every afternoon and all day Saturday at our small local dance studio and joined the performing company. While the dance community had its own issues, it kept me alive and safe. And it gave me something to be good at that has shaped my entire life. At 68 I still dance and perform with a local group. It brings me great joy especially in these times of so much pain in our country and world.
As a writer for children I know all about the attacks on the arts. I am glad that you highlighted the importance of the arts here, but I wish more republicans would also do so. I know most won’t because it is conservatives who are the ones who call the arts elitist. Maybe once some see the true effects of these cuts that will change. I am not optimistic. But I am grateful that you did.
I keep asking myself why.. these kinds of actions are so stupid, save little money as compared to the “big bucks” they say they need saved .. it simply gets down to making the people of america dumber. Throw out the books that make them think, take away the arts that create conversation … all because of a tyrant wanna be. We should alaways remember what helped soldiers in prison camps survive .. it was the arts of music, songs and plays .. the corrupt felon grifter and his henchmen need to be tossed to the side of the road!
Not only is this a straight up authoritarian move, it’s also a Project 2025/Christian Nationalist goal. For reference, take a peak at the 7 Mountains Mandate.
Great article. The military spends $260 million a year on military bands. But instead they cut the National Endowment for the Arts. They don't flinch when another $80 million fighter falls off a carrier, but they have to "save money" by cutting the National Endowment for the Humanities.
When you destroy ones culture, you destroy their history. To think this is the same playbook ISIS used in destroying historical relics. What great company we keep in the annals of history. Our children will be so proud of us.