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Dear Fellow Vermonter,
On a recent Saturday evening, something truly remarkable happened on a stage up in Johnson, Vermont. More than 180 Vermont students of all ages and backgrounds joined me for a choral concert and town meeting on the importance of arts education in our schools and our communities.
During our discussion, I heard many of these young people articulate something that many elected officials here in Washington have trouble grasping. The fact that the arts are actually NOT a supplemental part of our communities and education. The fact that the arts, in reality, are essential.
Whether it is music, theater, dance, painting, and beyond, the arts play an essential and indomitable role in our daily lives and our common humanity. To us as human beings, the arts are how we learn about ourselves and enjoy each other. Art makes beauty seen and truth heard. It brings people together in even the most difficult of times. It transcends language, backgrounds, and differences.
I very much look forward to a day when our nation no longer spends some $900 billion on wars compared to just $200 million on the arts. Until that day comes, count me in as somebody who will do everything possible to make sure we expand funding for the arts in our schools here in Vermont and across the country.
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