Some Parting Comments
“The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center of a nation’s purpose — and is a test to the quality of a nation’s civilization.”
When one reads this and then considers the absolute disdain for the arts and artists displayed by Donald Trump, you can almost grasp the “soulnessness” (is that a word?) which spreads, like ripples, from his utter lack of cultural IQ to the rest of his daily insults to the body politic. This is, after all, a man whose idea of meaningful entertainment is the World-Wide Wrestling Federation. Obama hung out with Lin Manuel Miranda; Trump’s sugar daddy is Vince McMahon. I say that last because, unlike Trump would have us believe, he has given none of his own money to the Trump “foundation” in recent years, while the McMahons (Vince and Linda) have donated over $6 million which has been distributed under the Trump cachet. Over the period when the McMahons were bankrolling the alleged foundation, Trump contributed exactly none of his own money.
Trump’s budget
proposal for 2021, was titled “Stopping Wasteful and Unnecessary Spending.” He considered the activities funded by the
National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities as
“extraneous and unjustified” because they “are not considered core Federal
responsibilities, and make up only a small fraction of the billions spent each
year by arts and humanities nonprofit organizations.” Of course, we understand
that these are not his own words, since several are polysyllabic, but they do
reflect his personal disdain for anything with which he can neither make money,
embellish his personal status or have sexual relations.
In fact, NEA grants serve as “seed money” in
that, on average, those cultural entities which receive NEA grants, typically
use that leverage to gain about nine times that much in matching local and
state funding. Name any other investment the nation makes which yields 900%
profit! I’ll wait.
Likewise, Trump
has attacked National Public radio and PBS. In the case of NPR which I have
found to be actually less editorialized than any other national news organization,
it is simply that they report, devoid of Trump spin and hype, the results of
his ill-conceived and poorly executed policies. I won’t go into detail here,
since I have done so, in detail, on other occasions.
PBS has given
us Sesame Street, Masterpiece Theater and, prior to the advent of streaming, were essentially our sole source of the best of British TV, much of which surpassed our own poor efforts. The Best
of Broadway also has given us access to yet one more art form spurned by the
current administration.
From as
objective a point of view as I can muster, Trump was raised to be the culturally
deficient adult he has become by parents who were of similar bent. He was
schooled by his father to shun any and all of those things which didn’t represent money making
opportunities. That, however, is no excuse
for failure to recognize the needs and tastes of others. In all modern administrations,
musicians and artists in widely divergent multiple genres have been invited to
perform at the White House and/or at Presidential galas. Not this one.
Likewise, only three
times in the 38 years between 1978 and 2016, did POTUS not attend the Kennedy Center
Honors where the gamut of American and international artists have been
recognized. Jimmy Carter missed one (Iran hostage crisis) and Bush and Clinton
also were each unable to attend one of the eight ceremonies held during each of
their terms. On the other hand, the Trumps have attended none of the ceremonies
held during the Trump administration. In retrospect, it’s probably just
as well, since almost every artist present at these events loathes the man. Having
said that, I’d love to be there when YoYo Ma kicked his ass in the men’s room.
In retrospect, this is understandable since
the one thing Trump knows and correctly assesses is that the vast majority of those
in arts and arts related fields have little to no regard for him and his
policies. There were similar objections from both sides in earlier administrations
(Bush 43’s Iraq war, etc.) but not like this. In the case of Donald Trump, the
dislike of the vast majority of the US Arts community is visceral and derives from
the understanding of his narcissism and revulsion for his disregard for the rights of anyone who offers
any criticism or difference of opinion on any topic. Temper this with obvious
racism and disregard for the civil rights of anyone not slavishly devoted to
him, and it’s understandable.
We’ve seen this
abominable behavior and attitude in media for too long. Meryl Streep is “Overrated”
(don’t tell Oscar voters), meanwhile Roseanne Barr, Kirstie Alley, Ted Nugent and Scot Baio line up for a chance to fawn over
Trump. A handicapped reporter is mocked in speech and mannerisms, Marines
killed in action in World War I were “losers” and “suckers.”
Along the way
we hear the college educated President pronounce Yosemite as “Yo-sem-might” (Rhymes with Vegemite, another disgusting entity
in and of itself), “A person who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10”
(speaking of Marcia Cross), “shithole countries”, “While Bette Midler is an
extremely unattractive woman, I refuse to say that because I always insist on
being politically correct.”, “Cher
should spend more time focusing on her family and dying career.”, “You could
see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
Not content
with a barrage of insults at those in media who have called him out for political
differences, Trump always makes it personal. So, summing up: culturally illiterate,
personally insensitive, and really not all that bright.
Never in recent memory has the personal inadequacy of an American President hurt our standing in the rest of the world as much and seldom has one engendered as much division and mistrust among our own populace as Donald Trump.
Now all that remains is one
last task: Just leave, already. Get the f**k out of the peoples’ White House and face the music in New
York State courts.
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