European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january 17, 1995 a commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 ise William f. Buckley the debate rages on the question of whether to continue Federal funding for the arts. A recent argument suggests an element of desperation. It is that the primary argument for continued funding is economic not artistic if the curtain does no to Rise then the taxis done to get summoned the restaurants done to get patronized the ticket salesmen Are Laia off. If you re going to. Say that kind of thing you May just As Well quote the founder of such thinking who was . Keynes with the observation that if its absolutely necessary to maintain High employment you should go out and build pyramids. The argument made Over the weekend by Newt Gingrich that the arts program is a Sandbox for the affluent cultural elite does no to quite Home in for two reasons. One is that Art Consumers Are by no Means All affluent. Certainly this is not the Case in Italy where Many poor people give opera second place Only after Spaghetti or soviet Russia where indigent victims of socialism would line up at the Library after Midnight to have Access to a new Book of poetry. And then also it is at least an open question surely whether education improves the sensibilities. If the founding fathers were  Only a virtuous society could Hope to remain free then did t they make a Case for literacy and if one favors Reading and writing and arithmetic Isnit it a matter of concern what one reads but it was rep. Dick Armey who said a the National endowment for the arts offends the Constitution of the United  that is a provocative statement and Prima Facie would appear to be Correct. There is the matter of form and the matter of Content the question whether the government has any business getting into the act and the question whether in doing so it has always behaved Welt. There has been Public resistance to some of the uses to which the National endow ment for the arts has Given Money. On the one hand the dissident taxpayer asks Why he should be levied to subsidize ventures in which he finds no artistic Merit and occasionally even condemns As inimical to the values to which he adheres. Supporters of existing practice argue that in the nature of things Art is experimental and that what May today appear scandalous or lacking in Merit 50 years from now May be acclaimed As a masterpiece. V it int possible to reconcile the two positions thus stated. But it is possible to acknowledge that support for what is unquestionably a part of our cultural Patrimony is pretty Well Universal. Adam Smith counselled that free societies Are obliged to contribute state funds Only for the maintenance of Justice for the common defense and for the preservation of National monuments. These monuments  be thought of As consisting exclusively of Marble palaces memorializing dead presidents and generals. The monuments of our society include music drama and Art. Accordingly critics and dissenters could meet on a Field of Compromise the National endowment for the arts should be Given a fresh mandate to continue to make Grants a but Only to qualified symphony orchestras Ballet and opera companies and museums a to help pay the Cost of bringing to the Public acknowledged classics in Art created 50 or More years ago. That test of longevity docs not demean artistic work created yesterday but acknowledges that the passage of time has also the critical effect of seasoned Vali elation. The very word a a Patrimony suggests the passage to the present generation of gifts devised by a preceding generation. As a practical matter we re talking about a very Small percentage of the Money spent on Art. Sixty percent of the Gross is provided by Consumers a americans of All classes who buy tickets. It is a  when to feel the Confidence to override populist culture. The rolling stones do not need a subsidy and it is they who attract the legions. But if it is necessary to give life to the string quartet specializing in baroque music is there a proper role for govern ment in the Enterprise what a a government Here Means is a vehicle of taking from no quartet sponsors for the Benefit of quartet enthusiasts but also surely As a Token of a willingness As Whittaker Chambers once put it of preserving the tokens of Hope and truth. A 1 c us versa Pross Syndicate searching for ponies in a Field of manure maybe in a feeling too Mellow although not quite Mellow enough to invite mrs. Gingrich to Tea. But from my Post outside the infamous Beltway the first sight of partisans spoiling for another fight is surprisingly unwelcome. A a we re not even three weeks into the new that a new not Newt and puh Leeze trash that headline a Congress. We be already had the ethics Flap the $4.5 million Book Advance. We be already had the appointment disaster the hiring and firing of historian Christina Jeffrey. Ave pc even anointed the new Media villain Connie Chung. The republicans arc now behaving like insiders the democrats Are behaving Tike outsiders. The majority is barrelling Down the policy Highway a if this is tuesday its time to Amend the Constitution a and the minority is readying a counterattack. In theory i should he pleased if things done to go smoothly. I am. After All a registered nonfat of the Gingrich crowd. The Only contract i would recommend anyone signing with Newt is a prenuptial one. Among the few Joys of being a minority is that you get to bite the Ankles of the party running Over you. But i can to help noticing How easy it is for opponents to forget or deny what they agree on. How easy it is to try to land a blow so the other Guy wont look like the Winner. Two years ago when the democrats won the White House the republicans were outraged that Bill Clinton had Wron on a a their issues most notably crime welfare Reform and values they wrent on a search and destroy Mission. Now the republicans have won the Congress and the democrats Are appalled that Gingrich a Folk have stolen a a their issues change the Middle class welfare Reform and ves values. We re either going to get a scorched Earth policy out of Washington or find some common ground. Souri this Mellow moment 1 am reminded of the Optimist who was Given a room full of horse manure for Christmas and said excitedly a wow there must be a Pony in there somewhere Quot somewhere in the morass of political fights and policy wrangles there Are Points that most of us in the nonpartisan bipartisan Middle actually agree on a especially in the worry about kids welfare and unwed mothers. Before we re blinded by partisanship we should keep an Eye out for the ponies. Pony 1 kids. Of Gingrich bounced off the Wall in fantasizing about orphanages for no orphans for the kids of the teens head Cut off the welfare Rolls. You  lose your baby because you re poor. What do we agree on Here 1 that some families Are irreparably broken Down. That the kids should come first that some Young mothers living alone with their babies Arentt happily Independent they re abandoned that group living a Call  Kibbutz Call it an extended family or a boarding school or whatever a for parents and their kids is Worth encouraging. A Tony 2 welfare Reform. A Tough Clinton plan balanced a two year welfare deadline with the Promise of training Day care jobs. Now the republicans want to show they re even tougher. They want to Cut the funds give the program Over to the slates and wipe their hands of it All. What do we agree on that promising a teen Ager Money a a pittance but More than she a Ever had a for Ellen Goodman having a baby Isnit a great idea. That leaving her and the baby broke Isnit either. The common Wisdom favors Vork Over welfare and common decency rejects the idea of starving poor kids. We. Agree on the fix we re in if not How to fix it. Pony 3 unwed teen age mothers. Just because its the republicans backed by a Strong right Wing choir chanting about the evils of unwed udness does t mean that the democrats should lose their voice again. Remember rolling your eyes at the glorification of unwed pregnant movie stars groaning at the words of pregnant girls who can to plan for the weekend let alone for their children a future what do we agree on Well one Side says abstinence. The other Side says birth control. Most of us want a both either anything something a Pony 4 values. Here we go again. A Core of republicans is saying that poverty is a matter of morals or to be More precise the Lack of them. A Core of democrats is saying that poverty is a matter of jobs or the Lack of them. What do we agree on that jobs make an enormous difference. That individual grit gumption and Pilipow or do too. Its a matter of internal resources and International forces. Somewhere in Here there a  a w Hole Herd of such ponies. A in the months ahead there will be a lot of honest disagreement about policy. There la be an enormous temptation to do unto others As was done unto you attack. And there la be a lot of urn Pony waste. What else do we agree on. Pony .5 the Good ideas done to belong to one Side or another. The real winners Are going to be the ones who ride the common ground. C bos on g obo