My blood ran cold when I read about the Illinois Senate`s vote to cut the Illinois Arts Council appropriation to the Illinois Arts Alliance and the School of the Art Institute. While I understand that it is difficult for politicians to vote ”against the flag,” I had hoped that they would avoid a kneejerk, ”patriotic” response and realize that what is at stake in this issue is not the flag, but what the flag stands for: freedom which includes, most importantly, freedom of speech and expression.
I am an instructor at Illinois State University. While the controversy was going on in Chicago, I raised the issue in one of my classes. ”He
(meaning the artist) ought to be taken out and shot,” one of my students said. While many others vehemently disagreed, his statement haunted me for quite some time. Are we headed into another McCarthy era?
I urge the House to restore the Illinois Arts Council grant. Don`t undermine the foundation of our country. With or without a flag, America survives. Can the same be said about freedom of speech?
