Let's talk about Trump destroying the Kennedy center's schedule.... - Belle of the Ranch

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump destroying the Kennedy Center schedule.

Yeah, that sounds like hyperbole, but it's not. Destroying is one of those words we try to avoid using in titles, but in this case, it's pretty fitting. What do Hamilton, Grammy winning singer and composer Rhiannon Giddens? Opera singer American opera soprano Renée Fleming, Issa Rae, the rock band Low Cut Connie, composer Ben Folds, folk singer Christy Lee, Shonda Rhimes of Grey's Anatomy, Doug Varone and Dancers, jazz talent Chuck Redd, and The Cookers have in common? They've all cut ties with the Kennedy Center after Trump added his name to the building like political graffiti.

It's clear that Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center has been an abject failure. Rather than adding the dazzling veneer of the 1980s, it's made the place toxic to those in the arts. Kennedy Center President Rick Grenell had quite the unique take on the situation, posting to social media, "The artists who are now cancelling shows were booked by the previous far-left leadership. Their actions proved that the previous team was more concerned about booking far-left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the arts to show you support the arts is a form of derangement syndrome. The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it.”

That's quite the take. The arts are for everyone. Like if they don't play at the Kennedy Center, that means the arts will die. Because when you think Kennedy Center, you think of the common person, right?

Hamilton has an astonishing number of performances this year. Renée Fleming will be performing with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra on January 17th and has performances from Palm Beach to Chicago between now and March. Christy Lee will be at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia on the 13th of March. I didn't check, but I am sure Doug Varone and Dancers will be performing all over New York City. They aren't boycotting the arts. They're boycotting a building. No shade to the other people pulling out of performing there. Just don't know their schedules. But I'm sure they're performing at places more accessible to average Americans than the Kennedy Center.

There's reporting suggesting that patrons of the Kennedy Center are also yanking their support. And there's a worry that it will cause the collapse of the arts--also unlikely. When you're talking about the big donors, they'll donate elsewhere and keep the arts alive and once the Kennedy Center removes that unsightly graffiti from its wall, they'll be back. Time will tell. They'll remember that it served them well. These problems didn't emerge without explanation. Trump affixed his name to a memorial for a well-liked fallen president. Then the problem started. Most of the artists said plainly why they pulled out.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.