I'm kind of shocked that people think that the soul of a
          culture, to use Mario's phrase, can be so easily stifled
          that a few hundred million dollars a year will bring it
          crashing down around our heads! After all, aren't souls what
          is durable after the material shell disintegrates? Let's
          have more faith in our collective artistic impulses! Teach
          your kids to draw, to play music, to look a pictures, to
          write and read. Go to the museums and concerts.
 
          And, don't give up on the politicians, that's facile
          cynicism. Find what arguments will turn their heads. In your
          own organizations, find the programs that are important to
          your visitors, promote them, and ask them to tell
          legislators that they *are* important.
 
          All this, and pay your rent too...It's not easy being
          artistic.
 
          Eric Siegel
          [log in to unmask]