I failed trying to explain how I love NPR and I also don't think the government should fund it. And it is partly out of that love that I worry that whoever holds the purse strings might dictate content. Why do some have such faith in government to do the right thing?
In the meantime, I went to a birthday party in New Jersey at Bounce U for my grandson's five year-old friend. I spent a while in the car while his little brother was finishing his nap. I thought about all the stuff I saw from the passenger seat of a car in a suburban parking lot... and how most all of it wasn't created out of love or generosity or loving kindness... but rather out of fairly selfish (Adam Smith used the word "domestic") aims.
Then I went to the party and actually slid down the slide and bounced around. I started wondering about all the life that was at this party. Where did it come from? It wasn't the product of people with only domestic aims. It was exhilarating... the noise, the exciting, the laughs. Wow! Wish I was five.
4 comments:
I have similar thoughts about NPR and government funding. Glad you could banish yours for a while and spend the day enjoying the energy of five-year-olds.
i like NPR, too! I guess i suspect that government funding of NPR is better than some commercial or other control. But I know it could be biased by any funding source.
The nice thing about "self-interest" is that it is dependable. You can depend on companies to act in a way that benefits them. If you want something from a company you need to find one that you can help. The government is a single source provider. If they say no, you are out-of-luck. If they are already taking money from companies to fund the arts, the companies are going to be less likely to give and give and give. Ronald Reagan suggested a tax credit for donations to the arts. That would have an unbelievable impact on the arts. And you'd just have to find one benefactor who liked your work. Sounds like the old patronage system, with an added benefit of a tax credit for the patron.
"The nice thing about "self-interest" is that it is dependable." If we take this as a truism, then why do so many business fail, often quickly?
I wouldn't want to be five for long, maybe visit for a couple of days. H.
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