As more and more public schools cut back on their art, theater, and music programs, I wonder about the deleterious effect this will have on our society. Without creativity, we would all be living in soul-sucking communist era apartment blocks. It would be nearly impossible to express new ideas. We would have relatively few ways to interpret the world.
If we had no way to express our originality, we wouldn’t be able to distinguish ourselves from everyone else. There would be nothing to read, there would be no forms of entertainment. The internet would disappear, as would television and radio. We’d all be wearing the same clothes. All our food would taste the same. We would have to completely rethink our concept of beauty. Nothing would be unique or at all special.
We wouldn’t be able to come up with elaborate excuses to avoid blame. Criminals would become entirely predictable. Politics certainly wouldn’t exist. These might be the only upsides to this situation.
As we go through life, we rely on creativity, often without realizing it. In fact, creativity is what allows us to thrive. It is our ability to transcend, progress, invent, and solve. It allows us to have dreams. It is our reason for being. We cut back on it at our peril.
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