Editorial | March 18, 2004
Pragmatic students find it difficult to justify a $160,000 degree in the fine arts. It is not a safe investment by any standards. Truthfully, many artists must leave their passion just to put food on the table. Nevertheless, many liberals choose this path. They get entry-level jobs at The New York Times with their degree in photography, study film to produce movies like Bowling for Columbine, and influence American culture with their connections to the mass media. Meanwhile, conservatives pursue careers in technology or business while complaining about the left wing bias of the media. Republicans only appear in the American household when they are clearly labeled as right wing ideologues, and are confined to political punditry—hardly the type of casual contact liberals offer to American youth through channels like MTV and newspapers like the Times.
Conservatives are certainly guilty of a tarnished image in the arts. Americans are rich with imagery of a saxophone-playing Bill Clinton, but find difficulty associating cultural enrichment with the Bush administration. Though Dubya asked to increase the National Endowment for the Arts’ funding by $18 million, few people will come to think of Bush as a benefactor of the arts.
But the conservative movement is evolving with the times. Slowly, conservative culture is spreading through American society—with great success. This can be seen in the achievements of conservative book authors including Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity, or with Saving Private Ryan or The Passion. Patriotism and faith, once scoffed at by liberals as part of grandpa’s values, have made a strong comeback in the younger generation—due in part to 9/11 but also helped along by the initiatives of people like Mel Gibson. Gibson, who was turned down by major Hollywood producers, bore the cost of his film, and consequently is likely to make half a billion dollars.
Conservatives were slow to realize the money to be made in pop culture and the arts. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that with a half-conservative nation and liberal culture abounding it is not quite so hard to make a name for oneself as a right-wing maverick on TV, radio, or the big screen. The elite media said it was impossible for a more conservative-leaning cable news network like FOX News Channel to unseat CNN. In only a few years, the market has proven otherwise. A gallery of patriotic paintings might draw visitors from all corners of New England, but left-wing artists would deafen their ears to this fact.
Conservatives have lost ground in the battle for pop culture. Academia, which is driven by the interest of the young, has suffered a similar fate. “Liberal arts” has come to mean much more than the broad development of scholarly thought—at most American universities it symbolizes a deeply ingrained progressive and liberal agenda. But accusing liberals of monopolistic control over education and media will not enrich the fine arts with conservative ideas. Conservatives must, at the expense of their own pride and egos, fully engage themselves in the culture war they claim the Left is waging against America. THE PRIMARY SOURCE thus brings its readers The Arts Issue—with cultural and intellectual fare for liberals and conservatives.
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