I try every year to watch the
Annual Kennedy Center Honors program. I
recorded it on my DVR this year and just finished watching it. I don’t know exactly why the arts have become
such an important part of my life, but over the years with thanks to numerous
friends with a variety of interests and tastes for art of all kinds, I have
found myself to be an enthusiastic observer.
The arts are of incredible
importance to civilized society. A
society without an appreciation for the creativity of its members is a society
dead to life itself. I, for one, am
eternally grateful to the Kennedy Center for sharing and promoting the artistic
talents of so many who have blessed our sights, sounds, and presence through
the years. To me it is a sacrilege to
watch elements of our government consistently try to cut funding for the
arts. The arts feed us in a way nothing
else can. Only government can truly
provide the broad base of funding necessary to insure a continuing presence of the
arts for all. Of course private
funding, through such programs as the Kennedy Honors, provide by far the most
significant support. But without our
government acknowledging their importance the arts are continually challenged
for their survival.
This year the celebrants
were: Carlos Santana, Martine
Arroyo, Herbie Hancock, Shirley MacLaine and Billy Joel.
(Photo Courtesy: John
Paul Filo/CBS via Getty Images.) It would be easy to overlook the contributions of these artists by
thinking, “been there, done that,” but I knew as soon as the program started
that I would have missed an iconic event.
To have the display of the talents of these gifted persons all in one
place at one time is a joy to behold.
If you did not see this program, I strongly suggest you avail yourself
of one of the after markets for programming such as Hulu, Amazon
or others, and reward yourself with the wonder of creativity. You can find out more about the program
here:
Coming to realize how much music,
theater, movies and art of all genres has come to mean to me has, at the same
time, left a tremendous ache in my heart for the lack of my ability to
personally express some form of art. A
friend reminded me recently that I could still learn to express artistic talent
in some way. I could learn to play an
instrument, or sing or paint. My
response was to reject the notion, citing my obvious difficulty learning the
subtleties of those forms of creativity.
The one area I seem to have left for creative expression is my
writing. Even if it never was important
to anyone else, being able to express whatever talent I have in this way is
very satisfying and gives me a sense of productivity. That is another insight the arts offer us—a glimpse of the
productivity of the creative spirit in wondrous ways!
So this becomes my message for
the New Year: Rejoice in the arts and
to whatever extent you are able, share your own creativity with the rest of us!
