The Kennedy
Center
is long
gone-
I mean,
politically
speaking.
And performing
arts
losing a home
to the world’s
greatest
is the latest
version
of Trump’s
subversion,
and submersion
into
the absurd.
By now
you’ve heard
the drip,
drip,
drip
as he tightens
his grip
on what
we thought
was a blip,
while he tries
to flip
The Center.
Bulldozers
seen
on the scene
make it seem
like he’s
demolishing
anyway,
regardless
of what
any court
might
say.
He’ll have
his day
someday,
maybe.
Meanwhile,
a pile
of rubble
causing
all sorts
of trouble,
may seem
minor
compared
to the war
against Iran,
but he does
what he can
because
he can.
He’s a
crafty
guy.
Why are
the arts
so dangerous
that history’s
most outrageous
autocrats
limited
or suppressed
what was
creatively
expressed,
and then
they professed
how useless
the arts are?
We’ve been
convinced
that the arts
are superfluous,
and despite
the gifted
and talented
artists
who live
among us,
we allow
them
to starve.
Robert Frost
recited
“The Gift
Outright”
at JFK’s
inauguration.
Later, Kennedy
remarked,
“When power
corrupts,
poetry
cleanses,
for art
establishes
the basic
human truths
which must
serve
as the touchstones
of our judgement.”
No wonder
Trump
wants
to destroy
The Kennedy
Center-
both figuratively
and literally.
He will
never have
the honor
of The Kennedy
Center,
just
obedience
for each
grievance.
He wants
to put
the cult
in culture,
but he’s
merely
a vulture,
feeding on
decay.
I ask you
today
to support
your local
arts community.
The arts
build
communities.
We
can be
the real
builders.
