Sunday, September 23, 2007

Separation of Art and State

Excerpts taken from Yale Daily News
Published: Thursday, September 20, 2007

Boaz calls for separation of art and state
by Raymond Carlson

David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute, discusses the relationship between art and government at the Yale Political Union on Wednesday evening.

In a flurry of gavel banging, hissing and desk tapping, the Yale Political Union met Tuesday evening for a debate on the ties between art and government.

The debate began with a speech in favor of the separation of art and state by David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, a leading libertarian think tank. Over 120 members of the YPU filed into Street Hall to hear Boaz’s speech, which was followed by remarks from members of the Independent Party, Tory Party and Party of the Right.

As a libertarian, Boaz argued for the protection of individual freedoms, and he asserted that when the government funds the arts, they are in danger of being limited by specific guidelines.

“The federal leviathan concerns itself with every nook and cranny of our lives, and the arts have not escaped the tender stifling of its embrace,” he said.

Boaz went on to draw parallels between the separation of church and state and the separation of art and state. “America’s founders thought that religion should be left to civil society precisely because it was so important to each individual,” Boaz said.

He contended that, like religion, individuality is essential to the interpretation of art. Therefore, Boaz said, art deserves to be given the same respect as religion and kept entirely separate from government.

Rachel Bayefsky ’09, who spoke on behalf of the Independent Party, agreed with Boaz’s remarks.

“The government’s support [of art] is an imposition of private values,” Bayefsky said. “I don’t think that we should accept the government coming in and telling us what we should care about.”

But Alexander Dominitz ’09 of the Tory Party disputed Boaz’s claims, saying that art is a key element of culture and requires the support of government to survive.

Party of the Right member Helen Rittelmeyer ’08 echoed this sentiment, saying that pulling government funding for the arts would send a message that the arts do not matter.

“By saying that the federal government should eliminate all arts funding, Mr. Boaz has reduced the arts to the cultural equivalent of stamp collecting,” Rittelmeyer said.

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