Wednesday, August 6, 2008

50 Days, 50 Days: National Endowment for the Humanities

I'm a history buff. I read military history, biographies, micro-histories of individual events. Love them all. I think real life is more interesting than most fiction. And I believe that we can apply the lessons of history to the major decisions facing us today. But that doesn't mean we should have the federal government paying for it.

Not all good things come from the federal government. The National Endowment for the Humanities dole out $143 million a year. I've enjoyed two of the projects it's helped fund, the "Treasures of Tutankhamen" exhibit and the Ken Burns' Civil War series. 1.5 million people saw the Tutankhamen exhibit, and millions more watched the Ken Burns' films on PBS and on DVD. Neither project should need to take money out of your paycheck.

Here's an overview of the program from the NEH webpage. Judge for yourself if it's worth taking money out of your wallet or increasing the national debt.

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