Artists are needed now more than ever in US

Donald Trump has called journalists the ‘enemy’, and his autocratic tendencies should be a call to arms for writers, painters, and filmmakers, says Nina L Khrushcheva.

As a former Soviet citizen, I can tell you: it’s never a good sign for a political system when artists speak out against it. When their statements strike a nerve, chances are that the system is sick.

In a democracy, art can simply be ignored. Of course, one can appreciate culture, but that is a matter of choice, not necessity.