I can only hope Obama takes this consideration to heart because if there is one job I was born for, it’s Secretary of the Arts:
A call for President-elect Barack Obama to give the arts and humanities a Cabinet-level post — perhaps even create a secretary of culture — is gaining momentum.
By yesterday, 76,000 people had signed an online petition, started by two New York musicians who were inspired by producer Quincy Jones. In a radio interview in November, Jones said the country needed a minister of culture, like France, Germany or Finland has. And he said he would “beg” Obama to establish the post.
One thing this country has always lacked is a national arts and culture program. Sure we have the NEA but it’s a joke. Every other nation that we compete with has a cultural post, so why not the US? And since Obama wants to create jobs, there’s nothing better thana good old fashioned WPA program to help fuel that. The old WPA produced more than a few cultural gems, and it fuled a whole raft of artistic traditions and counter-traditions whos einfluence lasted well intot he middle of the 20th cnetury. While a science and infrastructure related jobs program might be more pressing, ana rts program could also inspire us, which is just as important.
