I was having breakfast this morning at a local shop. Sitting next to me were two youthful octogenarian women.

“Did you watch Doc Martin last night?”

That tracks I thought.

“Yes, did you like…(I forget the details of the character or the event, not being familiar with the show)…?”.

“Yes…(again can’t recall the details recounted)…!” And then they both joyfully laughed about this apparently quirky character.

This TV show, this piece of popular culture and modern art brought them a moment of joy and I suspect gave them a perspective on life that may be a little different from their own. Now, I discovered as I eavesdropped a bit, these were two happy old ladies who laughed a joyful, infectious laugh at many things, even edibles, so, is Doc Martin intended to be funny? I don’t really know.

The arts are important for many reasons, but from a societal and educational perspective, the arts provide story, insight, and moments of empathy into the lives of others. Seems like we need as much of that as we can get.

Sometimes that brings joy and sometimes that brings sorrow.

I’m currently about one third of the way through Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I’m a long-time fan of her work, but I’ll say that I think this is her best writing. Her ability to capture the voice of a nine-year old boy and then change that voice as the character grows is masterful. It is also one gut punch after another as we see the world through the eyes of a child growing up in terrible Appalachian poverty, that absolutely chews up and spits out individuals like cannon fodder for corporate profit.

As a middle class, suburban-raised Minnesota boy, this story is putting a face and specific imagery on a life I otherwise would not understand except in the form of tropes and stereotypes. This is what literature can do. This is what visual arts, music, film, and TV can do. Doesn’t always, but certainly has the potential. It can also just be joyful and fun. That’s okay too.

In this world that seems to progress more and more to hyper-individualism and unfettered, free-market capitalism in which decisions are ultimately made for the bottom line and profit above all else, I fear we are losing sight of the importance of arts and culture.

Profit is of course necessary, but so is empathy for others’ life experiences. Otherwise, we lose all culture, and we also focus just on survival and nothing else. That’s a good way to end up living a purely utilitarian, lizard-brain existence. Then we see further income inequity with a select few reaping the spoils of excess and then access to culture while the rest toil to get by and do so in competition with “others” who they see as a threat to their meager survival.

As we see an erosion of the liberal arts a focus on education as purely job training that must lead to a specific career, this is a problem. This might exacerbate individualism, unhealthy competition and despair and disaffection.

We know this. We know we are better with a rich, vibrant culture. That’s why (those with means) visit places with a rich cultural history for vacations. We know the soft skills that come from the liberal arts are more important in the long run to employers and therefore profit, yet, we can’t help but continue to reduce the importance of the arts and culture in education for specific job training.

Ultimately, I don’t think we will be happy with a world that is primarily populated by engineers, accountants, and financial managers – nothing against them and their role in a society – overseeing the toil of warehouse workers and food service employees. We also need culture bearers. If for no other reason to provide joy and laughter to happy old ladies having coffee.