When The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened fifty five years ago, it changed Washington. The once sleepy southern centric capital became a cultural hub for performers from around the world. Opera, ballet, modern dance, symphonies, theater, jazz, folk music, so much more, even memorial services. Two thousand events a year.
Nothing stopped this great citadel of culture as the legendary George Stevens Jr., who produced the Kennedy Center honors for many years, among other achievements there, noted if the opera house closed temporarily for repairs, the Eisenhower Theater and the concert hall kept going. That is until Donald Trump, who now plans to close the center for two years, perhaps permanently, as his hacks, his lackeys were totally incompetent in trying to run this national treasure.
For more than half a century, the Kennedy Center has brought joy and inspiration to Republicans and Democrats, independents, and people who didn’t give a damn about politics. That is, until Donald Trump. This is not just a Washington tragedy, it’s a national and international tragedy.
A Washington without this treasure on the banks of the Potomac is a different and a much lesser place.