About a year or so I wrote an entry called Dictatorship and Art … What’s At Stake? in which I discussed what happens to the arts in places with authoritarian regimes like Russia and Hungary. I warned about what would be at stake should Trump be reelected. And now the chickens are coming home to roost. On Saturday, the New York Times reported that “President Trump proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in the budget he released Friday, taking aim once again at two agencies that he had tried and failed to get rid of during his first term.”
On Sunday, the Washington Post wrote “the NEA serves as the largest funder of the arts and arts education for communities across the country, primarily through grantmaking. The NEH helps fund humanities programs by supporting museums, libraries, universities, and public television and radio stations. Since Trump returned to office, he has enacted and proposed drastic changes to both agencies to fit his agenda for the arts, which includes extinguishing efforts to extend the reach of the arts to diverse communities and shifting funding to causes he deems more patriotic, including celebrations for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
I’m all in favor of celebrating the Declaration of Independence, but at what cost?
He has already taken over the Kennedy Center. In short, this just one part of the playbook to stifle freedom of expression that differs from the Trumpian/MAGA view of what America … or should I say Amerika … should be, say and look like. Should this occur, it would a terrible blow to photographers, other artists, writers and all those that value the freedom to express and enrich their creative selves.
This followed the news on Thursday that Trump had signed an executive order to cut federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), accusing them of “producing biased coverage and “left-wing propaganda.” This comes along with ongoing efforts to make universities tow the line, pressure public schools and intimidate the legal community.
All of this within 100 days of taking office. The implications are clear and frightening. Please don’t sit idly by waiting for the shutters on your cameras to silenced. Find out what you can do, and then do something!
Stay well,
Michael