F-22 and the Arts

In a clever attempt to defend public broadcasting and the arts, Robert Scheer’s recent Column Left diatribe (“Hey, Sucker, Wanna Balance the Budget?” Jan. 29) took aim at both House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Air Force F-22--and missed the mark on both.

Your readers deserve some facts: The F-22 was begun a decade ago, when Gingrich was a backbencher in Congress and commentators like Scheer didn’t care a whit how he voted. Moreover, the F-22 is far from “Newt Gingrich’s aircraft”--more than 80% of the aircraft will be built outside Georgia in hundreds of plants around the country.

The F-22--like education and the arts--should transcend politics. It’s the Air Force’s top-priority aircraft program and has received widespread support, not only because it’s a model program that’s on target, but because it’s the only airplane that can guarantee air supremacy and save American lives in the 21st Century.

We care about national defense, and we care about the arts--and the two are not mutually exclusive. Lockheed has been a major contributor to the arts, including our long underwriting of the premier PBS program, “Nova.” All Americans will suffer if commentators wage war between the arts and national defense. A great country can’t afford to make it “either-or”--both are essential to our nation’s future well-being.

SUSAN M. PEARCE, Vice President

Lockheed Corp., Calabasas