The
>country's ethos will manifest itself with or without the government.

Well, of course it will, but the point is that the federal government
publicly recognizes the importance of arts and culture by putting its money
where its mouth is.



Some of
>the best art shows I have been to have been done at the local level, i.e.
>the community, volunteers, local artists.


Again, these groups can and have done great things but there comes a point
where only money can make a difference (e.g. conserving works of art,
upgrading buildings, etc.).  These items are not "sexy" or high-visibility
enough to attract corporate or private philanthropic support (with a few
exceptions).  Let's call it "infrastructure," then, and correlate it to
upkeep of highways and the like, which we can agree (can't we?) that it is
the job of the states and the federal government to support.

Julia Moore
Indianapolis Art Center