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Coremodels said:
Cleveland also has twice as many arts organizations and twice the dollar amount in endowments.
And why is that? Because they see the value of the arts and are willing to support them financially.
The main reason I wouldn't want to "pay an extra dime to support some bullshit like an art museum" is I'd be afraid it'd be filled with pompous assclowns who believe their appreciation of certain things makes them a more complete and perfect being.
Not that I can point to anyone fitting that description...
I should know better than to Post While Infuriated - I guess it's pretty guaranteed to provoke the personal attack.
I'm sorry for you, Core, if you truly feel that institutions of higher culture are populated by people who are there primarily to feel proud of themselves - and that those people are somehow lying in wait to make fun of the less exalted whenever those poor unfortunates might dare to wander in. It's one thing to feel a normal level of unfamiliarity with a new setting, but it's very much another to conclude that that unfamiliarity is a purposeful effort of those around you. I have to say, I've very, very seldom been in a "cultural setting" (or whatever it should be called) where the already-enthusiasts didn't respond generously to new people who were there to learn, explore, and enjoy. And the rare cases where that didn't happen - why would I let people like that cut me off from something I wanted to try?
When I think about the value of things like art museums, symphonies, dance companies, etc., what's on my mind first is the tremendous personal nourishment that I get from them when I get the chance to experience one performing at the highest level. Second is how they can interweave into so many other aspects of life, not just as "entertainment" but also as inspiration, an intellectual and creative switch that can spur or support achievement in fields outside the arts. Third is the long, long history of it - the from-the-beginning tradition of human efforts to achieve in these realms, and how sustaining I find that sense of "this is what humans do" to be.
Quality achievement in the arts does have civic value. I would be happier if the financial cost of it could be spread across all citizens (like, for example, government support for the Columbus Zoo is), because then the amount required from each would be comparatively infinitesimal. But I don't feel like a 50-cent fee on a $10 movie ticket is really a big deal. Especially when, after negotiation, it's going to be more like 25 cents.
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