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*St is not the money that the NEA does not give out that limits free speech, it is
the money that the NEA does give out that limits free speech.
- Jacob Lovell
Corrupt NEA chooses art, individuals pay
By Jacob Lovell
Guest Writer
jlovelll@my.westga.edu
The National
Endowment for the Arts,
a Federal, tax-supported
program passed under
the Vietnam Warmonger
Lyndon Johnson, is a
thoroughly worthless
institution. Having spent
over $4 billion since its
inception, many criticsof the
organization maintain that it
has funded obscene works
of art. Other critics contend
that it has committed the sin
of censorship by not funding
other indecent works of art.
While some think that the
NEA should have authority to
not fund some projects, and
others think that the NEA
should not discriminate, there
are very few voices indeed
that call for the outright
abolishment of this corrupt
scheme.
Gasps of horror are
heard when such a suggestion
is voiced. “But we need
art!”, protest some. It is true
that people do need art on
a certain level, perhaps as
much as they need clothing,
food, and shelter. But, much
like everything that has been
necessary for the survival
of mankind, these needs are
not provided by government.
Today, the largest producers of
all of those things are private
firms. From record labels,
movie production companies,
and independent galleries, to
grocery stores, department
stores, and contracting
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companies, the needs of
society are provided for by a
capitalist system, through a
relatively tree market.
Companies that you
don’t like, companies that
won’t provide you anything,
are not getting your money
because you don't patronize
them. More importantly, the
companies that do provide
you with things, that do you
good, are getting your money
because you do patronize
them. As an example, are you
able to wear that Hollister shirt,
eat that McDonald’s burger,
and drink that local microbrew
because the government has
decided to fund legislation that
fully sustains the companies
and people that produce those
products? No, you're able
to have those things because
someone is making money off
of you having them.
To say that humanity
needs something, and
imply that government
must be there to provide for
such need, is a dangerous
mindset. After all. it was
the government of Ethiopia
that said it would provide
seed and farming tools to its
people, the government of
Germany that said it would
provide unity to its people,
and the government of the
United States that said it
would provide security' to its
people.
Ciovemment cannot
produce anything because
government’s actions are
inherently incapable of being
productive. In any of its
activities, from the military
to funding for the arts, all of
the money it hands out comes
from a source. That source is
not the beneficial, uncoerced
trade it does not have, nor the
crops and pnxlucts that it does
not produce. That source is
the sweat and labor of you and,
through deficit spending, your
children and grandchildren.
The more than $4 billion
that the NEA has doled
out (to those with political
connections) has come from
the taxes levied against the
People of the United Suites.
This is where the NEA
has truly censored free speech.
While the supposed liberals of
today bemoan how the Ear
Right has shut down freedom
of expression by way of
fighting NEA grants to certain
works or artists, I contend the
very opposite. It is not the
money that the NEA does
not give out that limits free
speech, it is the money that the
NE'A does give out that limits
free speech.
Every dime of that
$4 billion has come
from an individual,
including you. Instead
of allowing you to
decide what you will do
with your money, what
artists you will support,
or even what art you
will create on your own,
the government has
decided that it knows
better than you. On an
individual level, instead
you of being able to buy
a CD, or a set of paints,
or a ticket to a museum,
the government has
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decided to use your money to
fund things that you’ve never
heard of, will never see, and
might very well dislike. In
the gi )vemment-c( >ntn>l led
system, money goes to those
who are on gixxl terms with
politicians and can gel their
projects and art companies
funded. On a free market,
however, the voice of the
people will be heard via the
most democratic of methods
- people will buy the art they
like.
In the government
controlled art scene, people
are not allowed to decide
for themselves what art is
pleasurable aid what is not.
Instead of people being free
to choose for themselves what
they will fund, their money is
stolen from them aid given
to those who arc politically
connected. ITiis, truly, is the
censorship that the NEA is
guilty of.
Another bane of the
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govemment-controlledsystem
is the fact that fund granting
must be viewed through the
eyes of the people as a w hole.
Instead of being able to only
control his own money, a
fundanentalist Christian now
has the right, thmugh the
(lower of voting aid the fact
that he is a fellow taxpayer, to
help decide what is obscene
aid not obscene.
Without the NEA,
however, even artists who
produce art that isn’t supported
by the majority of the United
States can still make a living.
Artists that focus primarily
on gay. ethnic, or other work
that is considered outside of
the mainstream, cai be left
alone with their money and
time to produce that work.
The people that would be
interested in that work, though
not a majority, are likewise
left alone with their time and
money to patronize such an
artist and thereby provide for
Copyright Notice
The West Georgian, copyright 2007, is an official publication of the
University of West Georgia. Opinions expressed herein are those of the
newspaper stalf or individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of university faculty or staff.
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Georgia, Carrollton, GA, 30118. or sent via electronic mail to:
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him a living.
This is truly the freest
system. Gixxl art and bad art
are decided on the individual
basis. What is acceptable
and not acceptable is not at
the w him of the government,
the majority of the United
States, or, most commonly,
a vocal minority. Why must
we have an NEA that steals
from individuals to then
discriminately dole out to
those that can mb shoulders
with bureaucrats / Why must
we have politicians decide for
us what images we will see
and won’t see ?
The NEfA is not only
unnecessary, it is harmful.
When the only arguments for
its existence become, “but
the government wastes more
money on other stuff’, one
can fully realize the absurdity
of having it.
Freedom is the best
policy. Abolish the National
Endowment for the Arts.