Sorry, I know I’m supposed to be actually working on the paying stuff, but this just struck me as funny.
Barack Obama’s White House has apparently been reaching out to artists with a mind toward funding the promulgation of Obamian propaganda with taxpayer dollars, via the National Endowment for the Arts.
The NEA and the White House did encourage a handpicked, pro-Obama arts group to address politically controversial issues under contentious national debate. That fact is irrefutable.
Meanwhile, over at that Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI -who is gifted pianist- is inviting artists to meet with him:
Bono has been invited to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, along with more than 500 other artists and performers. This group will include members of the theater, art, literature and music communities and they will meet with the Pope at the Sistine Chapel on November 21.
The meeting is part of a concerted effort by the Roman Catholic Church to reestablish the relationship between the Church and art. Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said in a news conference at the Vatican that the meeting is intended to build on the “special historical relationship between faith and art.”
Well the Sistine Chapel will certainly give silent witness to the point, and it may reinforce for artists the longterm impact their work can have on the world. As if artists need any convincing on that score.
I know it’s irreverent to both the presidency and the papacy, but come on – it’s too funny. Read these stories back to back, and it’s Stephen King’s The Stand; people are being called, by both Abigail Freemantle -the old lady who plays the guitar and brags that she still makes her own biscuits- or by Randall Flagg, the walkin’ dude, who hands out all-seeing-eye amulets to his czars assistants.
All we need is some kind of Captain Trips.
Amusing, no? Are you not entertained?
UPDATE: More breaking on the WH/NEA story, or as Ace says: proof of the lie on the tape via Patterico.
Related:
The Rest of the NEA story?
Artistic Coersion?
Obama, NEA, Acorn
‘…and just plain cool people’
The Scandals have deep roots
September 21st, 2009 | 1:52 pm | #1
[...] Artists choice: Obama or the Pope [...]
September 21st, 2009 | 1:53 pm | #2
[...] Artists choice: Obama or the Pope [...]
September 21st, 2009 | 1:59 pm | #3
[...] Artists choice: Obama or the Pope [...]
September 21st, 2009 | 2:27 pm | #4
Don’t laugh or apologize for any similarities to the Stephen King classic. I forgot where I read it (may have been in his book, ‘On Writing’) but he’s a good Methodist boy and had big, end-times themes and visions specifically in mind when he came up with it. You and I both have noted for some time that there is a great big ’sorting’ going on (in terms of world views and loyalties) and that its pace seems to be accelerating. Time to flee to the cornfields of Nebraska before the Lincoln Tunnel gets clogged with stalled cars? Hmm…
September 21st, 2009 | 2:29 pm | #5
When is “the arts community” going to learn? Just look at the box office on the raft of anti-Iraq War films Hollywood was cranking out for a while (and they didn’t even need a push from the NEA!). Propaganda is boring. You end up preaching only to the choir.
I do welcome the exposure of how the administration is attempting to politicize every aspect of our lives, however. It is odious in the extreme. What’s next, Obamacare ads on our morning cereal boxes? Fifty bucks says one of the eager young zealots in the White House has already thought of that.
September 21st, 2009 | 3:16 pm | #6
The Powerline link is very good. I especially appreciate this official quote about the OPE’s mission:
“…to serve as the front door to the White House through which ordinary Americans can participate and inform the work of the President. … OPE will help build relationships with Americans by increasing their meaningful engagement with the federal government.”
The NEA call is, as the writer said, the OPPOSITE of the stated mission. It’s also Orwellian. What is all this about “helping the President”? (remember, it was originally in the school address suggested projects, too) The President works for US. He is not a dictator whose vision we are all obliged to carry out. The wording the White House uses is consistent and verges on demagoguery.
I imagine that many of the artists called, and maybe some of the people working on the idea, think of it as an updated Works Project Administration-type thing. But the people in charge surely know the difference. The artists and others were actually employed by the WPA, and the projects they worked on were for the public benefit (in Cincinnati, where I live, we have many murals, books, retaining walls, park structures, etc. that came from the WPA). They were not recruited to present government initiatives as their own work. It’s frightening.
September 21st, 2009 | 3:28 pm | #7
Does H1N1 virus count? There’s a reason I live 51 miles south of the District! Clear shot to anywhere else!
The Stand is my absolute favorite Stephen King book – especially with Gary Sinise who is an American treasure of an actor and a great American in all other respects – it’s a great morality play in most ways.
Many years ago, I equipped myself with non-elect coffee grinder, can opener, coffee pot, propane burning camp stove, etc. I’m ready for there to be no electricity. I have a windup radio that requires no batteries and enough double A batteries to last a while! Lots of canned foods, etc. inhabit my pantry as well and my cat eats dry food (albeit I have to go to Tractor Supply to get it).
September 21st, 2009 | 4:36 pm | #8
[...] The Anchoress [...]
September 21st, 2009 | 4:53 pm | #9
How big a deal is this latest scandal? The NEA is a minor branch of the government dealing with relatively small amounts of money. The politicization of the NEA by the Obama administration is distasteful, but compared to the politicization of the State Department or the Justice Department, I’m not too worked up about it. Coming on the heels of ACORN, it seems like pretty small beer.
Besides, most of these artists are in love with Obama and will gladly do his bidding under any circumstance. My hope is that the ultimate victim of ACORN/NEA is still to come–the “asleep-at-the-wheel” news media.
[I think the WH attempting to use taxpayer money via an established arm of the gov't no matter how small, is pretty hot stuff, myself. It surely would be if Obama had an R after his name. We'd be hearing this is an "abuse of power." But I'm trying to remember...wasn't there a big stink during the Bush administration because they had a writer endorsing their stuff, Armstrong somebody? Anyone remember? I don't recall the details, just that there was a HUGE stink about how unethical and immoral the Bushies were, and people in Congress going nuts. Anyone, anyone? -admin]
September 21st, 2009 | 9:33 pm | #10
Yes, Anchoress, you are right. It was the columnist Armstrong Williams who had received money to promote the “No Child Left Behind” Act.
The democrats went crazy with Bushitler stuff and the pompous media went on and on about it.
Today I heard that Henry Waxman had introduced a bill making arrangements like that illegal. Whether it actually became law or not, I do not know, but if it did, then this phone call and the plans they made were breaking the law.
September 22nd, 2009 | 6:08 am | #11
This sort of work pays, and pays regularly in both money and fame. And that’s probably all we need to know about the complicity of the artistic community.
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