Should the government fund the Arts ?

 I wanted to watch the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters awards ceremony & concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center to see four men of distinction recognized for their accomplishments. I assumed since Jazz is our indigenous American art form I might find it on PBS, A&E, or Bravo. But that was not the case, I had to search on the web to see these great American artists that represent the best of our society receive their awards and hear some wonderful music. Since Jazz had been supplanted on A & E by Duck Dynasty and other reality shows there's no denying that media companies could not care less about our culture, only the bottom line. Unlike European countries our government doesn't underwrite high culture in America. Our culture is funded by a small handful of patrons that support ballet, opera, jazz, and orchestral music. Without the generosity of this group I dare think our society would retrogress into an artistically impoverished gaming culture, that is completely pop oriented for the monetization of the moment. It is an interesting paradigm shift to observe this race to the bottom. In the 1960s one could tune into a major network and see Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, or Leonard Bernstein.

Sadly, we get the culture we deserve.