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… filling in the negative space with positively everything

Why You Should Support the Arts

Many people tend to think of the arts as frivolous, pretty things to see, hear, read or do if you’re rich or on vacation. Some actually think the arts are simply unessential.  They’re all wrong.

There are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. These organizations – ranging from large institutions like museums and orchestras to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas – don’t just employ performers, artists and curators: they provide jobs for accountants, administrators, designers, plumbers, laborers, maintenance people, union workers and engineers.  In fact, arts organizations support more full-time jobs than those in accounting, public safety officers, and lawyers, and just slightly fewer than elementary school teachers.

In a report released in mid-January, the National Governor’s Association stated:

Arts and culture are important to state economies. Arts and culture-related industries, also known as “creative industries,” provide direct economic benefits to states and communities: They create jobs, attract investments, generate tax revenues, and stimulate local economies through tourism and consumer purchases.

But arts organizations do more than help stimulate local economies – they significantly contribute to local culture and quality of life. Residents can experience and learn about the histories, traditions and aesthetics of people around the world, as well as of members of their own community with whom they may not normally interact.  Visitors can be exposed to aspects of a place they may not have been aware of, such as a small-yet-thriving cultural group or an alternative music scene. The “local flavor” that arts organizations lend to a community create a culture that frequently lures potential employers/employees to relocate to the area: cities with thriving creative communities like San Francisco and Austin often attract the best-and-brightest because of this.

Young Bloggers: Youth Outlook Wants YOU!

YO! Youth Outlook, a multimedia collaboration of youth perspectives, is calling for bloggers to share their thoughts on America’s regime change.

Building on the success of 2008’s virtual events, YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia and WireTap are proud to announce our fifth weeklong Youth Media Blog-a-Thon to kick off on Tuesday February 2nd.

All young bloggers (between the ages of 14-26) – along with any bloggers dedicated to writing about youth issues and youth media – are invited to blog from February 2nd to February 9th about REGIME CHANGE.

It finally happened! After two solid years of anticipation, a new administration based on change entered the White House on January 20th. The youth of America played a huge part in the success of Obama’s campaign, but how will we sustain the energy and support in keeping the new administration on task?

Here are some ideas to address in your blog posts:

  • How do you think Obama’s Presidency will affect the civil rights movement? Explain.
  • Rolling Stone Magazine quoted Cornell West as saying, “I told Obama that when he wins—which I think he will—I will celebrate for one day, I’ll break-dance in the morning and party in the afternoon. But the next day, I’ll become one of his major critics.” How will you straddle adoration and criticism of the nation’s first Black president? Explain.

Origins of Virtue and Outliers

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If we are to recover social harmony and virtue, if we are to build back into society the virtues that made it work for us, it is vital that we reduce the power and scope of the state. … It means devolution: devolution of power over people’s lives to parishes, computer networks, clubs, teams, self-help groups, small businesses – everything small and local. It means a massive disassembling of the public bureaucracy. Let national and international governments wither into their minimal function of national defence and redistribution of wealth (directly – without an intervening and greedy bureaucracy). Let Kropotkin’s vision of a world of free individuals return. Let everybody rise and fall by their reputation. I am not so naive as to think this can happen overnight, or that some form of government is not necessary. But I do question the necessity of a government that dictates the minutest details of life and squats like a giant flea upon the back of the nation.

… Just as trade between countries is the best recipe for friendship between them, so exchange between enfranchised and empowered individuals is the best recipe for cooperation. We must encourage social and material exchange between equals for that is the raw material of trust, and trust is the foundation of virtue.

- Matt Ridley, The Origins of Virtue

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