“Our best hope lies in our nascent arts. For if we are to be remembered merely as the people who lived, loved, made war and died; then it is for our arts that we must be remembered. Captains and kings vanish. Great fortunes dissipate leaving hardly a trace. Inherited morals, like inherited wealth disappear so rapidly, the multitudes flock away like locusts. Walls and the records tumble and the leaders, too. The leaders too, are soon forgotten unless they have the wisdom and foresight to surround themselves with doers, poets—artifices of things of the mind and the heart.” -Maxwell Anderson (c. 1935)

The words of this American dramatist and man-of-letters were penned more than a half-century ago and yet, they still resonate today. Political divisions, economic challenges and regional conflicts are felt more acutely now than ever before, given our emerging presence as members of a global community. In an important symposium on cultural diplomacy, in 2010,  sponsored by the Aspen Institute, of Colorado, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. and the John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress, the theme of human values, finding common ground between and among cultures and cultivating a richer understanding of the human condition were explored.artes fine arts magazine

Changing thought processes and attitudes is not an easy task. The common language that binds all of humanity can be found in our modes of creative expression, however. The task is to decide how best to deliver that message, as Americans, and how to shape the effort so it is not perceived as self-serving, but rather, invites an enthusiastic and equally well-intended reciprocal response from other countries. The best and least politically-charged approach to this task, the conference presenters agreed, was through the private sector, where governmental influences are effectively removed, or at least distanced from the core message.

American cultural diplomacy depends more on the arts than ever before. Consider the following facts: The U.S. military is the largest and most prominent instrument for outreach to the world; the Defense Department budget for U.S military bands is larger than the State Department budget for diplomatic initiatives, worldwide; the budget for the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) and the humanities (NEH) is a mere 1% of the defense budget and shrinking in terms of real dollars every year; the book, Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson is required reading for all officers serving in Afghanistan, making the point that winning the hearts and minds of the people is the only real way to win a war with a thousand-year history of tribal rule and ethnic clashes.

Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003), offers a refreshing perspective, as an Iranian-born woman who is now a U.S. citizen. She suggests that memory is the basis for individual identity and collectively, for any culture or nation. National memory spans generations and is not displaced by political or military repression. The physical manifestation of those collective memories lies in its cultural artifacts: its art, architecture, literature and poetry. Cultural memory is often ‘stored’ in repositories, called museums. But, in many countries, it can be a ubiquitous part of the national landscape.

Nafisi suggests that a Culture of Imagination transcends borders; knows no gender, race, or religious bias. Literature, for her, can serve as a universal language that offers a culture of recognition. We discover ourselves in the reported lives of other people. Our struggles and dreams, desires and hopes are the same. Any government or established political institution cannot possibly reflect the complexity of its people and their beliefs. For example, she points out that the use of the phrase ‘the Muslim World’ is an empty term. The expression attempts to encapsulate geography of thousands of miles and dozens of countries, lumping countless sects and local religious communities into one meaningless, but emotionally-charged image for most Westerners.

So, for cultural diplomacy to serve as an effective alternative to bureaucratic interventions , non-governmental organizations must be prepared to reach out to other countries and cultures as equals, understanding that information flow is a two-way street; a sense of history (collective memory) and knowledge of the intellectual and artistic contributions of those nations is essential and that the world is increasingly ‘borderless’, with technology and economics becoming the great levelers of the playing field and equalizers when it comes to understanding the shift in U.S. supremacy on the world stage. Cultural outreach, including the arts, literature, music and theater, becomes a key ingredient to assure ourselves, as a nation, that our lifestyle and values are represented in a way that neither threatens nor overwhelms, but that we meet our global neighbors and build bridges of understanding on equal and respectful terms. –

Explore programs and video streams of past events at the Aspen Institute: www.aspeninstitute.org

Visit the Phillips Collection at: www.phillipscollection.org

Learn about the Brademas Center at: www.nyu.edu/brademas