In “Individualism and the Arts” by Robert N. Bellah, he discusses how American culture has underrated the arts. He relates this to individualism and how it stresses looking out only for yourself, your fears, your feelings, and your goals, and not really worrying about others. He states, “There is a recurring tendency in American culture to undervalue the arts -- to think of them as decorative, recreational or therapeutic. Rarely do we regard them as essential expressions of that which is most true about our lives,” (Bellah). He goes on to talk about other cultures and their views of how art fit into their lives. He refers to the Greeks and Plato, Plato saw that without the arts in education, education was not whole and in turn the person was not complete without art, be it music, dancing, writing, painting, etc. Bellah also addresses how it can help balance out the negative nature of individualism because in order to become good at an art form you need to interact with other people. He gives the example of someone wanting to play the violin, and that you cannot learn to play the violin solely from book, you must have a teacher. He says, “When we learn to play an instrument we learn another terribly important lesson about the place of the individual: we learn that we can't do it all alone,” (Bellah).
This relates to my topic, does America undervalue the arts and what are the effects it has on society, in that not only does he address it in the first couple of sentences he gives reasons why America tends to do this. He says that many Americans see art as a luxury, “Both the businessperson striving for improved competitiveness and the social worker defending the housing needs of the poor see the arts as luxuries, tangential to what is really important. Neither of them may realize that a well-crafted play can teach us that competitiveness is not an end in itself, or that an inspiring musical score can affirm the dignity of each person upon which a claim for adequate housing can be based,” (Bellah). I must agree with him, I think art has a lot to teach us and that by learning those lessons we learn more about ourselves. It also helps us understand others, in choirs, bands, orchestras, and various dance groups, people form powerful bonds and learn to work together while maintaining their individuality, like in wind symphonies you breathe as one to start off the song. It’s no wonder that Americans with their high individualistic priorities regard such activities as a luxury because on the surface it may appear that you have to sacrifice that individualism. In conclusion, America does undervalue the arts and their benefits. The effects, according to Bellah and Plato, are incomplete people who neglect to take advantage of the resources that bring people together and teach them important life lessons.
Bellah, Robert, and Chris Adams. "Individualism and the Arts." Christian Century (1993): n. pag. Web. 25 Mar 2010.
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