I am heartened that the response to last month’s Static column, “Tearing Apart the Arts,” was overwhelmingly positive. I was expecting a flood tide of condemnation, but there was barely a trickle. Here is the trickle:
Dearest Andy,
It is my belief that most of the subscribers to The Syncopated Times and most of the fans and supporters of Traditional Jazz are fiscally, socially, and politically conservative. It is very common for liberals not to realize they live in a sea of conservatives because the conservatives are . . . nice and respectful. I think that you owe it to your true constituents, conservatives, to make the effort required to understand their points of view that do not exist merely to tear apart the arts and irritate you.
Liberals—as I was—feel free to give vent to unconsidered points of view because they mistakenly think that most people are liberal and only a few bad people are conservative. In fact most people in the US are conservative.
NPR and PBS hold forth as neutral purveyors of the culture we all enjoy. They are not. They are liberal to left-wing and so entitled in their views that they cannot even see what abusive language they use in reference to the majority. Conservative news sources and broadcasts label themselves as conservative.
You are using your platform at the Times to promote your personal views, but the Times belongs to you. True, we ar
