I was asked by a beautiful woman this weekend to write a column of 800 words in praise of her because I happened to mention that I was coming up short for a topic. This was a novel idea, and perhaps a good one. But, another matter I feel a little more com pelled to write about, respectively, concerns the death of the arts in America.

Republicans, like Pat Buchanan, have said again and again that when they get to the White House, they're going to close the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts). Not only is it frightening when people like Buchanan start winning primaries (Louisiana and New Hampshire), but what does it say about the general atmosphere in relation to the arts in America?

Why is it that in most western European countries, the arts are proudly supported by the government, but here, the majority of the population bathes in the excitement of the "Die Hard" trilogy?

Now I myself enjoy a good brainless movie once in a while; however, it stays at just that - once in a while. When people only go to entertain themselves and purposely halt short of anything else, I begin to worry. This is the situation in America as it no w stands.

Recently, I had the unique opportunity to chat with two friends of mine who are artists and Republicans. How they manage to justify this still leaves me dizzy. Nevertheless, I decided to keep an open mind and listen to their responses. Well, I was still b affled after we talked. So I asked one of them, "What about how the NEA will be slaughtered if (a very big "if" considering the choices) the Republicans gain control of the White House?" His response, basically, was that private funds would pick up the sl ack.

In past decades, and for many of them, private funds have indeed been a large part of the sponsorship for the arts in America. But I dare say that those days are numbered. The NEA is needed now more than ever. With the streamlining of everything in Americ a from company layoffs to a decline in spending to a cry from the public for less government, the arts as we know it are at the beginning of a new threshold, and one that doesn't look very promising.

The reality of private funding picking up the slack is a view we can no longer hold onto. That is, unless we begin to change the movement that strikes against it. I could very well be talking about the religious right here, but the truth is that I'm talki ng about the lack of art education within our families and communities.

Private funding has come, for the most part, from people over the age of 50. In addition, most of these people grew up with some sort of appreciation of the arts, and therefore, in my assumption, enjoy supporting the tradition of creativity that in return , creates our culture (among other things).

The problem, then, is that the generations following up behind them are not sharing the same views as their elders concerning the support for the arts. Today in America, more and more people entering college are being steered into fields of business, medi cine, and law. These fields specifically are not the problem, but when people begin entering these fields because they just want to make money, or because they have no clue as to what they would like to do with their lives, it scares me. Kids are coming o ut of high school and going to college with the notion that money is the more important than doing what you like because it may not pay well. People are becoming sterile, and the artistic aspect of American culture is suffering.

I know very few people who were taught something about the arts by their families, and this trend is reflecting on the arts in a way that introduces severe consequences to our culture. How many people in our generation go to the museum? The ballet? Read b ooks in their spare time? Very few.

To attempt to explain the importance of art in America is a task that would take volumes to even begin to do any justice. But the importance of art, in one aspect, is that it makes you ponder questions. It makes you ask questions that might lead to more q uestions, which, hopefully, will lead you to some sort of a better understanding about life (however oppressive that may seem) and maybe, yourself. The possibilities are limitless, and that's the greatest gift that art can give - the possibility for a be tter understanding.

Please support your local arts and go see Richard III playing at the Lab Theatre playing through next week.

Daniel W. Martin is a creative writing sophomore. His column appears every other Tuesday.