An Idea Thanks to CNN and NPR and cable TV, Americans have access to facts and statistics and images from all over the world. We don't lack facts. What's harder to come by is a sense of community, of connectedness, of understanding. Ultimately, to be full formed citizens, we need both news about what is happening and news about what brings us together, where our connecting points lie. In order to find our connecting points, we have to be able to communicate, we have to have a common language.
Art can, and does.
It can help to bring a community closer together. As one artist shares her joy or sadness with another human being, a true sense of community grows. To paraphrase John Updike, art teaches us a language whereby we can talk to one another about what matters most. The Connecting Point will foster the teaching and learning of this language, and will provide a place for the discussion and participation to take place, in an easy, comfortable atmosphere that can be made part of our daily routines. Currently, there is a great need to rebuild geographic communities dedicated to the need of people from different walks of life, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic groups to understand each other's positions.