The 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors Celebrate Five of the Best!

Every year, around this time, we hear politicians, celebrities, news personalities, educators, and everyday citizens praise the arts. They do so in the context of celebrating a group of individuals deemed to have made significant contributions to the cultural development of a nation…people with influence who have led the way, inspired creativity and innovation, and who represent the triumph of the human spirit. It’s the Kennedy Center Honors. This year, Steven Colbert hosted the ceremony which honored five beloved artists: Al Green, Tom Hanks, Patricia McBride, Sting, and Lily Tomlin. Anyone watching the ceremonies did so with a warm heart and a wide smile. These people are special. They have affected us in ways we can’t even imagine and they have intimately shared their visions with us for decades.

President John F. Kennedy, one of the greatest supporters of the arts our country has ever had, once said “I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction.”

We don’t know many people who would disagree with President Kennedy. But it does beg the question…..WHY THE ATTACK ON ARTS EDUCTION IN THIS COUNTRY? We can all agree that without encouragement….without a foundation…without inspiration….those who are honored by the Kennedy Center might never have achieved their dreams…and ours. The arts are disappearing at a very base level in this country and we just cannot allow it to continue. The view that the arts are the soul of our nation, but we don’t need to fund them, share them, support them, or grow them….is an oxymoron. We need to nurture the arts for they are the future of our country…they foster innovation and creativity and invention…all of the things that have brought greatness upon our nation.

Time to get off the soap box now but we really felt the need to point out the inconsistencies. We do have one last question…..where are the writers and the painters among the Kennedy Center Honorees?

Just asking!