The Kennedy Center Should Be Torn Down Because It Symbolizes D.C. Democratic Elite Exclusivity
Source: Eddie Scarry. "The Kennedy Center Is A Shrine To D.C. Decadence. Tear It Down." September 18, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that the Kennedy Center isn't really loved for its art or accessibility to everyday people, but because it's a status symbol for wealthy D.C. Democrats who use exclusive events there to feel important. Since it's really just a monument to elite self-satisfaction rather than genuine culture, the author suggests it wouldn't be a loss if it were torn down.
Conclusion
The Kennedy Center should be demolished (or its potential demolition is not something to mourn) because it is not truly a beloved cultural institution but rather a monument to the exclusivity, wealth, and self-importance of D.C.'s Democratic elite.
Premises
- Defenders of the Kennedy Center, like Washington Post critic Philip Kennicott, praise its inclusive, multicultural public spaces and free performances, but this praise is disingenuous.
- What D.C. Democratic elites actually value about the Kennedy Center are its exclusive black-tie events, which are attended only by media and political insiders, not by Republicans, tourists, or ordinary people.
- The Kennedy Center's location near Georgetown associates it with a wealthy, exclusive neighborhood that is financially inaccessible to most Americans.
- The 'multiculturalism' and 'free performances' offered by the Kennedy Center are merely token gestures to the poor, designed to maintain the elite's status hub rather than genuine inclusivity.
- The elite defenders of the Kennedy Center don't care whether ordinary people or tourists ever visit, revealing that their professed values of art and inclusivity are hollow.
- Washington D.C. already contains abundant monuments to Democratic self-importance, so losing one more building is inconsequential.
Assumptions
- The motives and feelings of Kennedy Center attendees and defenders can be reliably inferred from their demographic profile and social class.
- Praising a building's public, inclusive spaces is incompatible with also valuing its exclusive events, and doing so constitutes hypocrisy rather than genuine appreciation of multiple aspects of an institution.
- Political/ideological affiliation (Democrat) is the primary lens through which the value and meaning of the Kennedy Center should be understood.
- Physical proximity to a wealthy neighborhood impugns the character of an institution itself.
- The symbolic meaning of a building for a particular social class outweighs any practical or artistic value it provides to the broader public.
- Tearing down a building is an appropriate response to perceived symbolic association with a disfavored social/political group.