Band 6+: Some people think that the government is wasting money on the arts and this money could be better spent elsewhere. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Arts has existed since the beginning of mankind’s civilization, as ancient people living in caves used to make drawings of their daily activities, such as hunting or dancing. In the modern times, arts have become a huge part of the civilizations, with people and governments spending significant amounts of money on artifacts; this process, however, has provoked some people to criticize the seemingly overabundant amount of fundings for arts.

First of all, we must understand the necessity of arts in our societies; contrary to what some people think, art is a very important and beneficial part of the society. Arts have been used for numerous causes such as peaceful protests and expressing or pacifying a person’s emotions. Also, another use of arts is for entertainment, such as music, theater, and films, through which not only people entertain themselves but also the artists can send important messages to the people.

Additionally, one of the most important reasons for arts’ funding is because it represents the nation’s culture and history. Each country has arts such as dances, music, paintings, and clothes exclusive to themselves and their people, which is an important factor for their nation’s identity. Furthermore, a notable benefit of arts is for the public’s mental and physical health. Martial arts and sports can help the people in being physically healthy, while a huge amount of psychologists suggest participating in arts such as painting or music, for improving one’s mental health.

Now to the statement that some people make regarding the extent funds used on arts, I want to say that those people have overestimated the amount spent on arts. If we take a glimpse at the budget given to military branch of the governments we’ll see that the biggest proportion of the funding goes to them, while only a small percentage of the governmental funding goes towards arts, but just as important the military of a country is for their country’s security, arts are as important for the mental and physical health of their citizens.

In summary, the people who say that governments waste money on arts are ignorant people who don’t actually know the value and importance of arts. These people must be educated about the impact arts have on their lives and their culture, so they can be grateful of their nation’s artists and their career.