Every year millions of people visit art galleries, go to gigs, watch movies or series, and enjoy performances of many, many different styles. Those audiences are comprised of people from every walk of life, of all ages, with political leanings from left to right. Your religious beliefs, your race, your sexual preferences are of no importance here. Nobody is excluded. This is why Culture is so vitally important to all societies. It is our common ground, it is the bridge than spans all divides.
Without it we focus once more on our differences; we become polarised, falling back into the Us or Them syndrome that causes so much distance, hatred and pain.
The Arts are not simply consumer goods to be likened to cosmetics or fashion. Culture is not frivolous, it is not a luxury item. It is essential for the cohesion of society. From the Last Night of the Proms to street carnivals, from Shakespeare to The Beatles, it is something we can all share.
There are those who would burn books, destroy ancient heritage sites, ban free expression. We cannot allow this to happen. Not again.
