Posted by Joe Baker on July 02, 2003 at 11:55:03:
In Reply to: Re: Re: "How to Kill Orchestras" - NY Times posted by Doug on July 02, 2003 at 10:35:05:
The only problem is that the Politburo -- I'm sorry, I mean the Supreme Court -- quit paying attention to the constitution, especially the enumerated powers, some time ago.
WARNING: Next paragraph digresses to political diatribe.
They have taken the invented notion of 'penumbra' and parlayed it into the authority to unilaterally amend the Constitution. Take the recent case overturning Texas sodomy laws. You can agree or disagree with the laws (I disagree with them), but the State of Texas has the right to make them. In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy didn't even bother to cite any constitutional basis for overturning the law:
...[the law] demeans the lives of homosexual persons [who are] are entitled to respect for their private lives. When homosexual conduct is made criminal by the law of the State, that declaration in and of itself is an invitation to subject homosexual persons to discrimination both in the public and in the private spheres.
Well, of course making something illegal will invite discrimination. Discriminating against homosexuals may be wrong, and it may violate local or state laws, but it is NOT unconstitutional.
Political diatribe over.
But even if the Supreme Court did follow the constitution, local and state governments would still be free to subsidize arts as much as their electorates let them get away with. I don't happen to think it's the right thing to do, but they could.
Several folks (like 'socialist') have suggested that capitalism is the bogey-man that is causing orchestras to not receive more funding, local or federal; it's not. It is the democratic process. Why should money be confiscated from everyone to subsidize music that is only enjoyed by a few? I would ask Socialist, suppose they forcibly extracted your money to subsidize the Grand Ol' Opry, or the next Rollin' Stones tour, or Branson, or maybe some accordian or bagpipe festival? That's EXACTLY how most people feel about having tax money spent on classical music: taking money from "us", and giving it to "them".
Joe Baker, who thinks the abandonment of the Constitution is the most frightening development since the end of WWII.