i look forward to an america which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or state craft. i look forward to an america which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization. this country cannot afford to be material little rich and spiritually poor. art is the great unifying and humanizing experience. the life of the arts far from being an interuption, a distraction in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation s purpose. and it is the test of the quality of a nation s civilization. i am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our