Arts Endowment’s Critics Aren’t ‘Yahoos’

To the Editor:

In his opinion article “Clinton Makes a Grand Ole Pick to Head the Arts Endowment” (January 15), Henry Goldstein hurls a rude epithet at members of Congress who favor the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts: He calls them “yahoos.”

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a yahoo is someone who happens to be “a boorish, crass, or stupid person.” Personally, I can’t vouch for the manners of the Congressmen to whom Mr. Goldstein refers, but they certainly aren’t stupid. They have the acuity to realize that our nation is several trillion dollars in debt and that, as a result, we really can’t afford to take the hard-earned money of overtaxed Americans and use it to pay obscure artists to produce even more obscure works of art.

As a classically trained musician, I am aware that the N.E.A. does fund a variety of art forms and projects. As an American, I am also keenly aware that our nation is headed for fiscal ruin if we don’t trim the fat from the federal budget — and like it or not, the N.E.A. is definitely fat.

Besides, nowhere is it written in the U.S. Constitution that the federal government is responsible for the financial support of American artists. I guess that makes the founding fathers yahoos as well.

Robert R. Monti
Grant Writer
Ohio Association of Police
Athletic Leagues
Cleveland

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To the Editor:

Mr. Goldstein’s perspectives on the President’s proposed nomination of Bill Ivey to head the N.E.A. and its effect on the N.E.A.’s relationship with Congress are clear and, in my opinion, accu rate.

I would take issue with only one item in the column. While I am sure there are some arts professionals who have had a negative reaction, there are many who are positive or neutral. Many of us in the arts recognize the value of folk music in American culture and respect ethnomusicology for both its scholarly interests and practical application. I think Mr. Ivey can count on the support of many arts professionals during and after the confirmation process.

Susan Farr
Executive Director
Association of Performing Arts Presenters
Washington