The following arts fact blew me away. I woulda said high school marching bands. But NEA Director Rocco Landesman says:

This means something. Something about military ritual and public relations. It can't be all Taps. But it seems to me that Americans at large know very little about military culture these days. And that's not a good thing -- it takes us out of sympathy, out of the equation.

Which isn't to say that small town American is ignoring its men and women in service. We are celebrating them, and rightfully so. But military culture is an enigma for non-military families. And the band plays on.

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source: musicalamerica.com 10/23/09 Susan Elliott "Reviving the NEA: A Chat with the New Chair"