Don’t Punch Your Music Teacher

You don’t have to be a musician, painter, dancer, sculptor, novelist or poet to realize the inherent value of the arts in our human existence. We all get it at a cellular level. If you don’t, and you actively disdain the arts, you might just be heartless, seeing its only value in what you can exploit.

During the 2024 campaign, many musicians objected to having their work played at rallies and fundraisers by one of the campaigns. The simple reason? The artists were not philosophically and politically aligned with the candidate, and they asked the campaign to cease and desist. For the most part, they were ignored. Luciano Pavarotti’s widow asked the campaign to stop using her husband’s recordings because the candidate’s “world vision” did not match that of her late husband. That polite and civilized request didn’t stop them from blasting Pavarotti’s version of Schubert’s Ave Maria during a 40-minute onstage sway-fest, a rally that various pundits called “bizarre” and an “odd town hall detour.” There’s currently a Wikipedia page listing artists who don’t want their music exploited by the incoming president - Mick Jagger, Blondie, Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie, Sheryl Crow, Adele, Beyoncé and about forty others. A campaign can buy the rights to packages of songs, but the artist retains the right to request removal. Many have made this request and they’ve been ignored. It’s basically theft, and it certainly is exploitation. He doesn’t care. His sycophants don’t care. Celine Dion objected to the use of My Heart Will Go On at political rallies. “In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use. And really, THAT song?”

"Even in elementary school, I was a very assertive, aggressive kid. I actually gave a teacher a black eye - I punched my music teacher because I didn't think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled.” The Art of the Deal (1987)

Well, there you have it.

I don’t know one teacher who hasn’t dealt with the I-know-more-than-you-do student. I know a few teachers who have been hit by students. Some schools would have followed through with expulsion. We might be looking at a different future had that happened. Of course there should be consequences for punching a teacher. Instead, the student apparently grew up to know more about everything than anyone.

During 2017-2020, the president of the United States skipped out on the Kennedy Center Honors, which award lifetime achievement recognition for artistic excellence. Skipped out on Linda Ronstadt, Phillip Glass, Cher, Sally Field. Midori. Dick van Dyke and fifteen others. In 2017, The Economist published an article titled “The White House has become a cultural wasteland.” The administration tried to block funding for arts, education, diversity initiatives, attempting especially to defund or outright eliminate federal funding for arts and cultural entities. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) thankfully survived – for now. Its annual budget, around $167 million (when adjusted for inflation, it’s less than half of its 1992 budget) helps arts councils in all fifty states. In comparison, the defense budget is about $820 billion. The incoming administration will likely try once again to eliminate the NEA, along with other cultural mainstays like National Public Radio. Here’s an in-depth article about what may be down the road: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/can-art-world-prepare-trump-victory-2549147

So, what do we do? We know what (who) we’re dealing with. We’re aware of the cultural vacuum of the first administration and here we go again. The only thing that got in the way of artistic expression then was covid. One person (and so many minions) small-minded enough to be hostile and indifferent to arts and culture won’t impede our human need for creative self-expression. The incoming dissonance can’t - and won’t - last forever.