Since 1965 the most prominent source of government support for the arts has been from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In the Declaration of Purpose for the NEA, Congress said that, "it is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to help create and sustain... a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry."

The federal government has been funding art for centuries, long before the creation of the NEA in 1965. In the 1930's, the federal government employed thousands of artist, photographers, wr

I strongly believe in all of my inalienable rights, which includes freedom of expression. I also strongly believe that the government should play a role in the funding of art. It is up to our elected officials to make competent decisions on which exhibits and or pieces to endorse. When the government funds controversial forms of art they are representing the majority of American voters. If their decisions cannot reflect the majority than some kind of a reform must take place. I do not mean abolishment!

Many people believe that the NEA should not receive funding, or in other words, should be shut down. An extremely valid argument is that in attempting to draw guidelines on which pieces or exhibits should be funded by the federal government we are infringing on the freedom of expression and therefore, the funding for arts should be left to the private sector.

Among some of the notab

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 604
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)