Earlier this month, President Trump announced a budget plan that would defund the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, three agencies that are critical in promoting education, celebrating cultural diversity and encouraging Americans to express themselves creatively. It would be illogical to claim that cutting these programs is going to make our country unravel or combust, but the greater implications may be cause for concern. Defunding these programs implies a diminishing sense of value in areas that cultivate empathy among humans — arguably one of the most critical aspects of a healthy society.
In a video put out by the NEA, award-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams said, “As an artist it’s sort of like the holy grail. We pray the NEA does not go away. Otherwise we lose the support we need to make our art.” And now the president’s proposed budget has placed the NEA and NEH’s existence in danger, subsequently threatening to severely cut large-scale art projects and educational endeavors.
Museums are one of the primary groups that would be affected by these budget cuts. Yet, they are masters of communication, facilitators of difficult dialogue and supporters of cultural preservation. Museums play a vital role in uniting humans from different backgrounds. They help us understand one another on a deeper, more fundamental level. In a time when our country is acutely divided, why send the message that learning about our history as a people is no longer important?
Public media funding would suffer as well. As an avid public radio consumer, I see no reason why we should not place value on programs that provide free, reliable news to the public. Patricia Harrison is the President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In a statement released on March 16, Harrison said, “At approximately $1.35 per citizen per year, it pays huge dividends to every American.” Harrison has a point. It is unfathomable that any American would not be willing to pay less than two dollars per year for public media, a service that educates people regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location.
In fact, when looking at the total costs of supporting the NEA, NEH and CPB, it is unfathomable that President Trump could defend cutting them from the budget at all. In 2016, funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities each made up .003 percent of federal spending, with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at .01 percent. It does not make sense to defund these programs when they ask so little of us relative to the budget as a whole. Aside from the fact that the NEA, NEH and CPB enrich our society, it is especially irrational to suggest that cutting them from the budget would improve our deficit when they collectively contribute to less than .02 percent of our total spending.
America is a country built on dreamers, thinkers and doers. It is comprised of people who want to come up with creative solutions to problems or who want to teach others new things in unconventional ways. What a tragedy it would be to revoke our support of these forward thinkers, these artists who beautifully shape our country’s past, present and future.