The Audacity of . . . . Culture!
Tuesday, 9 December 2008 Clay Burell 
Print This Post
Yes, I’m still gushing. I know he won’t be perfect, and is possibly farther right than Nixon in several ways, but by god, I just almost choked up watching Obama say these words in his Meet the Press interview with Tom Brokaw:
MR. BROKAW: Let me ask you as we conclude this program this morning about whether you and Michelle have had any discussions about the impact that you’re going to have on this country in other ways besides international and domestic policies. You’re going to have a huge impact, culturally, in terms of the tone of the country.
PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Right.
MR. BROKAW: Who are the kinds of artists that you would like to bring to the White House?
PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Oh, well, you know, we have thought about this because part of what we want to do is to open up the White House and, and remind people this is, this is the people’s house. There is an incredible bully pulpit to be used when it comes to, for example, education. Yes, we’re going to have an education policy. Yes, we’re going to be putting more money into school construction. But, ultimately, we want to talk about parents reading to their kids. We want to invite kids from local schools into the White House. When it comes to science, elevating science once again, and having lectures in the White House where people are talking about traveling to the stars or breaking down atoms, inspiring our youth to get a sense of what discovery is all about. Thinking about the diversity of our culture and, and inviting jazz musicians and classical musicians and poetry readings in the White House so that, once again, we appreciate this incredible tapestry that’s America. I–you know, that, I think, is, is going to be incredibly important, particularly because we’re going through hard times. And, historically, what has always brought us through hard times is that national character, that sense of optimism, that willingness to look forward, that, that sense that better days are ahead. I think that our art and our culture, our science, you know, that’s the essence of what makes America special, and, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House.
Jazz. Poetry. Classical. Science. Reading – these things have been objects of scorn and smirks by the outgoing regime for the last eight years. I shouldn’t be close to tears that America’s incoming president understands the beauty and wonder of the mind and the creative spirit. I shouldn’t be.
But I am.
- Politics and Culture Reads around the Web 10/28/2008
- Politics and Culture Reads around the Web 10/29/2008
- Politics and Culture Reads around the Web 10/24/2008
- Politics and Culture Reads around the Web 10/26/2008
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
No. 1 — December 9th, 2008 at 8:39 am
“Jazz. Poetry. Classical. Science. Reading ” Imagine that!
As young, involved parents, the Obamas are just the people to model the type of teacher-student-parent partnering that is essential in education.
Lead on, Mr. President!
dianes last blog post..CyberSmart! Africa
Reply
Clay Burell Reply:
December 9th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Yes indeedy.
I wish Obama had made the connection between culture and tough economic times more direct, like so: If you know how to enjoy, truly enjoy, culture, it saves you a lot of money. I’ve said it before: a used $2 copy of Keats’ poetry can give a month of free leisure that, to me, beats eating out or going to the movies.
And those savings make paying the bills easier.
Bush, of course, just wanted kids to be able to read and do enough math, it seems, to be good worker-drones. None of that untestable “creativity” and “engagement” for him. Reading is utilitarian only.
Reply
No. 2 — December 10th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I knew you were elitist, Clay, but this is beyond elitism. This is downright liberal! You mean to tell me we need to read stuff and have art in the White House? Don’t we have better things to do than look at painted things and listen to nursery rhymes in our spare time? What next? We’re gonna have national tea-time replace Daylight Savings? Maybe have a pretty statue erected in the Great Lawn so people can just stare at it, instead of, say, a dog or a cat, or anything more American or normal like that!
OK, I need to stop playing. People might take me seriously. I wonder if, with the way things are now, every child will need 3 parents, 2 to work, and the other one to read with them and take them to the museum and do all the stuff the other 2 parents should be doing. I do wonder. Out loud.
Joses last blog post..The Mouth and The Giggler
Reply
Clay Burell Reply:
December 11th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Jose, if you don’t instantly write a post (or just copy/paste this comment as a post on your blog) about this, shame on you. There’s much to think about there.
Reply
No. 3 — January 21st, 2009 at 7:31 am
[...] I can’t close so pessimistically, because I do believe Obama has both the integrity and the intelligence to improve things. Beyond that, I find his championing of science, poetry, jazz, and classical – of culture – like water after an eight-year crawl across the Sahara. As I wrote elsewhere, [...]
No. 4 — July 30th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Honestly, this sounds like a great dream. I mean if we look at the way the government goes, children are great to have around but for 18 years they are a liability and not an asset. The government, as long as it is made up of old white men, will never see the necessity of providing culture for their future.
Reply