I'm nearing the end of Lewis Hyde's The Gift. I'm particularly obsessed with the Walt Whitman chapter.
"The lack of a common skeleton, knitting all of us, continually haunts me" Walt Whitman
It's about the importance of art creating a central spirit for a society. It helps us to understand who we are as individuals and as a mass of individuals. It not only offers us opportunities to connect with one another about issues, values, etc. it often opens up our mind to new ideas and perspectives that we hadn't considered before.
When he was writing Whitman was worried at that time that we'd lost this common skeleton. In many ways we're much more connected than in the late 1800's. Is the art that is being produced and valued today setting the frame for that central spirit and are we doing enough to pay attention to it?
Being a Force for Good 